What Now
“This album is actually an album of questioning. There\'s a lot of introspection, and within that, I\'m answering questions that I\'ve never had the space or capacity to ask,” Brittany Howard tells Apple Music about *What Now*, the Alabama Shakes singer-guitarist’s second solo album. “I was always so busy, I was always running around, I was on tour, I was preparing this, preparing that. This time I told myself when I would go in there and make songs in my little demo room, ‘No one\'s ever going to hear this,’ and it was very freeing.” Of course, people would end up hearing those songs, but that mindset helped Howard write from a brave new perspective. She dives into her personal history and guiding philosophy in a vulnerable way, like she did on 2019’s *Jaime*, but this time, the instrumental choices are bolder and more unexpected than ever before. “Power to Undo” is a folk-rock tune that showcases the album’s central theme. “You have the power to undo everything that I want/But I won\'t let you,” she sings. Once that’s revealed, the song descends into an acid-funk freakout, built around scratchy guitars and ramshackle drums. “‘Power to Undo’ is actually about freedoms,” she says. “A lot of people can experience this feeling of ‘I know I shouldn\'t do that. I know I need to keep moving in this direction.’ It\'s just about this thing chasing you down, and you\'re like, ‘No, you\'re not going to get me, I\'m not going to change directions.’” Elsewhere, on “Prove It to You,” Howard cues up gauzy synths and a dance-floor drum groove that’s made for an after-hours. It’s the furthest from the rootsy rock Howard rose to fame with, but the creative risks of *What Now* suggest an artist more interested in following a muse than replicating past successes. “I am always expanding and evolving and trying new things,” Howard says. “That\'s the most fun about being a creative person—trying things that challenge you and you don\'t know anything about.”
The second solo album from the Alabama Shakes singer-songwriter is musically muscular and thematically heady, a sound nerd’s project with stadium-sized panache.
When Howard released the title track four months ago, some were astounded by how poppy, zestful, unlike her it sounds. Aiming for an artistic shift, What Now invests less in psychedelic soul – her signature – and more in vintage R&B, house, and…
Brittany Howard made her name in Alabama Shakes with gritty blues-rock; her second solo record is a wondrous, sonic exploration.
Brittany Howard proves even further that she is a sensational solo act on her much-anticipated follow-up to 2019’s 'Jaime.'
Brittany Howard has had a hugely eclectic career as guitarist and frontwoman for blues-rock outfit Alabama Shakes, earning many plaudits and as a member
What Now captures Howard’s joy – the joy that she finds in singing, in flitting through different forms, and in saying the difficult bits through brilliant song ★★★★
Dancefloor bangers, vintage soul, joyous funk… the winningly candid Alabama Shakes frontwoman mixes it up to perfection on her second solo album
Brittany Howard – WHAT NOW album revuew: Luminous 1970s avant-jazz and Prince-like hooks
Brittany Howard’s ‘What Now’ could have benefited from more free-flowing song structures and unconventional arrangements.
The Nashville musician continues her quest into an epic odyssey of sound in sophomore solo record