April 16th, 2015 12:43pm
This Life Ain’t Like A Book
Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color”
Man, this song just sounds like it’s begging to be sampled and turned into a rap track, doesn’t it? I’d bet the band actually was influenced by sample-based rap in arranging this – it’s drawing on a lot of ’60s and ‘70s soul music, but the way the elements click together feels very post-turntablism to me. It’s in the negative space, and the way the guitar part kinda lingers half-formed in the background like a looped artifact, and how the string parts near the end feel like they’re being imported from some other song entirely. It’s a gorgeous piece of music, and Brittany Howard’s vocal performance is pitched just right – a little understated compared to a lot of her stuff, but sorta wounded and emphatic right when it matters most.
Buy it from Amazon.