Sound & Color
2021 deluxe edition cover features the text in shades of pink and orange
Studio album by
Alabama Shakes
ReleasedApril 17, 2015 (2015-04-17)[1]
Studio
Genre
Length47:26
LabelATO
Producer
Alabama Shakes chronology
Boys & Girls
(2012)		 Sound & Color
(2015)
Singles from Sound & Color
  1. "Don't Wanna Fight"
    Released: February 10, 2015[3]
  2. "Gimme All Your Love"
    Released: February 2015
  3. "Future People"
    Released: March 19, 2015[4]
  4. "Sound & Color"
    Released: September 21, 2015

Sound & Color is the second and final studio album by American band Alabama Shakes. It was released on April 17, 2015 via ATO Records.

Sound & Color debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., giving the band their first chart-topper; globally, the album hit the top ten in Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The album was also a critical success and was nominated six Grammy Awards, winning four for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, as well as Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Don't Wanna Fight". It spawned four singles; "Don't Wanna Fight" was the most successful, peaking at number two on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart.

Background

Alabama Shakes began recording their second album in late 2013. The group listened to anything and everything for influence, without regard for its public reception in the end.[5] They spent over a year in the studio, with no clear end-goal, as they had not written any new songs due to their exhaustive touring schedule.[5] Sound & Color is steeped in several different genres, touching on shoegaze to bands such as MC5.[6]

In promotion of Sound & Color, the group appeared on Saturday Night Live on February 28, 2015; they performed the singles "Gimme All Your Love" and "Don't Wanna Fight".[7]

The title song, "Sound & Color", was used in the final episode of the first season of Mr. Robot.

In 2017, the song "This Feeling" was used in the first season of the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies, and in 2019, it was used in the end scene of the final episode of the British TV show Fleabag. The song "Sound & Color" was used in the end credits of the 2019 film Waves, directed by Trey Edward Shults and produced by A24. "Don't Wanna Fight" was used in the 2019 film Just Mercy.

A deluxe edition of the album was released on October 29, 2021, featuring three B-sides and four live recordings. The live recording of "Future People" was released as a promotional single on September 29, 2021.[8]

Composition

"A genuine Americana love letter",[9] Sound & Color is rooted in Southern rock[10][11] and soul music.[12][13] It has also been noted for making roots rock "a surprise again".[14] Yet despite being rooted in these genres, Sound & Color includes some of the quartet's most eclectic and experimental songs to date. It features sounds of country,[9] blues,[15] funk,[15] garage punk,[9][16] punk rock,[14][17] swamp rock,[18] and talking blues.[16] Its songs have been compared to musicians like Erykah Badu and Curtis Mayfield and bands like MC5 and the Strokes.[13]

The "engrossing" "Guess Who" explores jazz sounds.[12] The "ballistic" "The Greatest" takes on cowpunk like that of the Meat Puppets,[19] as well as hardcore punk,[20] new wave,[21] proto-punk,[22] and "no-frills" rock and roll.[18] A "fun little bash" is made out of the fusion of grunge and funk on "Shoegaze".[23] Both songs have also been noted as garage rock.[9]

Sound & Color digs its heels into more psychedelia-based stylings,[15][16][24][25] from the "slow-burning" space rock[26] of "Dunes" to the "celestial" psychedelic funk[18] of "Future People". "Gemini", the record's longest song, changes between "smooth R&B and stoner-desert rock"[27] while journeying into "zero-gravity" funk.[13]

Commercial performance

The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 97,000 album-equivalent units (91,000 copies of traditional album sales) in its first week, in the week ending April 26, 2015, making it the band's first number one album.[28] The album has sold 306,000 copies in the US as of December 2015.[29]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[30]
Metacritic80/100[31]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[24]
Chicago Tribune[32]
The Daily Telegraph[33]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[26]
The Guardian[20]
The Independent[21]
NME8/10[22]
Pitchfork8.1/10[13]
Rolling Stone[25]
Spin7/10[14]

Upon its release, Sound & Color received positive reviews. At the review aggregator Metacritic, the album currently holds a score of 80 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[31] Writing for Exclaim!, Andrea Warner called the record a "deliberately weird record, but authentically weird; it's chaotic yet cohesive, full of sound, colour and unshakable vision."[34] Barry Nicholson of NME compared it favorably to the band's first album, writing, "whereas their debut was cast in sepia hues and downhome earthiness, its follow-up is a more kaleidoscopic affair."[22]

Accolades

Sound & Color garnered six nominations at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards; it was nominated for the Album of the Year, marking the group's first nomination in the category. The album was also nominated for Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical (Blake Mills), and won Best Alternative Music Album, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (Shawn Everett and Bob Ludwig). "Don't Wanna Fight" won for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.[35]

Semester-end lists

Country Publication Work List Rank Ref.
US Paste Sound & Color The 25 Best Albums of 2015 (So Far)
6
"Gimme All Your Love" The 25 Best Songs of 2015 (So Far)
9

Year-end lists

Country Publication List Rank Ref.
US Billboard 25 Best Albums of 2015
7
Complex The Best Albums of 2015
29
Consequence Top 50 Albums of 2015
36
Entertainment Weekly The 40 Best Albums of 2015
13
Canada Exclaim! Exclaim!'s Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums
10
US NPR NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2015
*
Rolling Stone The 50 Best Albums of 2015
37
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015
31
The New York Times The Best Albums of 2015 (by Jon Pareles)
7

* denotes an unordered list

Decade-end lists

Country Publication List Rank Ref.
US Pitchfork The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s
138

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Brittany Howard, with help from Blake Mills on "Future People", "Guess Who" and "Gemini." All music written by Alabama Shakes[48]

No.TitleLength
1."Sound & Color"3:02
2."Don't Wanna Fight"3:53
3."Dunes"4:18
4."Future People"3:22
5."Gimme All Your Love"4:03
6."This Feeling"4:29
7."Guess Who"3:16
8."The Greatest"3:50
9."Shoegaze"2:59
10."Miss You"3:47
11."Gemini"6:36
12."Over My Head"3:51
Total length:47:26
iTunes Japan bonus track version[49]
No.TitleLength
13."Drive By Baby"2:20
14."Joe"4:00
International bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Joe"4:00
14."Makin' Me Itch" 
Target exclusive bonus CD
No.TitleLength
1."Gimme All Your Love" (live from the Artists Den)4:13
2."The Greatest" (live from the Artists Den)3:19
3."Joe" (live from the Artists Den)3:35
2021 deluxe edition[50]
No.TitleLength
13."Drive By Baby"2:20
14."Joe"4:00
15."Someday"3:19
16."Don't Wanna Fight" (live from Capitol Studio A)3:59
17."Future People" (live from Capitol Studio A)3:29
18."Dunes" (live from Capitol Studio A)3:30
19."Over My Head" (live from Capitol Studio A)4:03

Personnel

Credits adapted from Sound & Color liner notes.[51]

Alabama Shakes

  • Brittany Howard − vocals (all), guitar (2–12), vibraphone (1, 7, 11), percussion (4, 6, 12), keyboards (11, 12); string arrangement (1)
  • Heath Fogg − guitar (all), percussion (6, 12)
  • Zac Cockrell − bass (all), percussion (6, 7, 12)
  • Steve Johnson − drums (all), percussion (2-4, 6, 12)

Additional musicians

  • Ben Tanner − keyboards (1, 3-12), vibraphone (1), percussion (12)
  • Paul Horton − keyboards (11)
  • Rob Moose − string arrangements (1, 3, 6, 7)

Production

  • Alabama Shakes − production
  • Blake Mills − production, percussion (2, 3, 12), guitar (8), vibraphone (10)
  • Bob Ludwig − mastering
  • Shawn Everett − mixing, engineering

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[81] Gold 40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[82] Silver 60,000‡
United States (RIAA)[83] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Release group "Sound & Color" by Alabama Shakes". MusicBrainz. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes - Credits". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ "Don't Wanna Fight - Alabama Shakes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ Kort, Alicia (March 19, 2015). "Alabama Shakes Releases New Song "Future People" Off Upcoming New Album 'Sound & Color' [LISTEN] : Buzz : Music Times". Music Times. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  5. 1 2 David Browne (March 25, 2015). "How Alabama Shakes Gambled Big on Wild Second Album 'Sound & Color'". Rolling Stone. No. 1232. New York City: Wenner Media LLC. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  6. ↑ Lauretta Charlton (June 12, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: 'There's No Way to Be Original'". Vulture. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  7. ↑ Minsker, Evan (March 1, 2015). "Alabama Shakes Perform "Gimme All Your Love" and "Don't Wanna Fight" on "Saturday Night Live" | News | Pitchfork". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sound & Color (Deluxe)". Apple Music. January 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Buchanan, David (April 21, 2015). "Album Review: Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color | Consequence". consequence.net. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. ↑ Swedlund, Eric (April 21, 2015). "Alabama Shakes experiments with mood on the ambitious Sound & Color | The A.V. Club". avclub.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ Swann, Emma (April 19, 2015). "ALABAMA SHAKES - SOUND & COLOR | DIY Magazine". diymag.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Kloke, Joshua (April 15, 2015). ">>>Alabama Shakes | NOW Magazine". nowtoronto.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Dombal, Ryan (April 23, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Aftandilians, Natasha (April 22, 2015). "Review: Alabama Shakes Can't Be Tamed on the Ripping 'Sound and Color'". Spin. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 Pearce, Sheldon (September 20, 2019). "Brittany Howard: Jaime Album Review | Pitchfork Media". pitchfork.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021. Sound & Color, from 2015, sprawled out into blues and funk and psychedelia...
  16. 1 2 3 Saunders, Hilary (April 28, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color Review | Paste Magazine". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  17. ↑ Galvin, Annie (April 22, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color | PopMatters". popmatters.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 Fawcett, Thomas (October 2, 2015). "ACL Fest 2015 - Review: Alabama Shakes and Thunderbitch - Music | The Austin Chronicle". austinchronicle.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Review: Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color | Pretty Much Amazing". prettymuchamazing.com. April 20, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  20. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis (April 16, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: Sound and Color review – a bravely freshened sound, but too few great songs". The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  21. 1 2 Harley, Kevin (April 18, 2015). "Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color – album review: It brims with confident ambition". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 23, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  22. 1 2 3 Nicolson, Barry (April 14, 2015). "Alabama Shakes – 'Sound & Color'". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  23. ↑ Margolis, Lynne (21 April 2015). "Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color | American Songwriter". americansongeriter.com. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  24. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  25. 1 2 Hermes, Will (April 21, 2015). "Sound & Color". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  26. 1 2 Anderson, Kyle (April 28, 2015). "Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  27. ↑ Winograd, Jeremy (April 19, 2015). "Review: Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color | Slant Magazine". slantmagazine.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  28. ↑ Keith Claufield (April 29, 2015). "Alabama Shakes Scores Its First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  29. ↑ Chris Payne (December 7, 2015). "Grammy Nominations 2016: Alabama Shakes and Courtney Barnett Surprise in Rock". Billboard.
  30. ↑ "Sound And Color by Alabama Shakes reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  31. 1 2 "Reviews for Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes". Metacritic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  32. ↑ Kot, Greg (April 17, 2015). "Alabama Shakes shake up their sound". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  33. ↑ Brown, Helen (April 18, 2015). "Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color, review: 'rattling expectations'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  34. ↑ Warner, Andrea (April 17, 2015). "Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees". Billboard. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  36. ↑ Hilary Saunders (July 1, 2015). "The 25 Best Albums of 2015 So Far - Paste". Paste. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  37. ↑ Hilary Saunders (July 2, 2021). "The 25 Best Songs of 2015 (So Far) - Paste". Paste. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  38. ↑ "Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
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  40. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2015". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  41. ↑ "The 40 Best Albums of 2015". Entertainment Weekly. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  42. ↑ Exclaim! Staff (December 3, 2015). "Exclaim!'s Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums, Part Two Best of 2015". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  43. ↑ "NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2015 : NPR". NPR. December 7, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
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  45. ↑ "Albums of the Year 2015". Rough Trade. Rough Trade. November 25, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  46. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2015". The New York Times. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  47. ↑ Pitchfork (8 October 2019). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
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  49. ↑ "Sound & Color (Bonus Track Version)". iTunes. 21 April 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  50. ↑ "Sound & Color (Deluxe) by Alabama Shakes". Bandcamp. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  51. ↑ "Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color". Discogs.
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  53. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  54. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
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  66. ↑ "Alabama Shakes | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
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  68. ↑ "Alabama Shakes Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  69. ↑ "Alabama Shakes Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  70. ↑ "Alabama Shakes Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  71. ↑ "Alabama Shakes Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
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  76. ↑ "Hot Rock Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  77. ↑ "Billboard 200 – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
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  80. ↑ "Hot Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  81. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Music Canada.
  82. ↑ "British album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Sound & Color in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  83. ↑ "American album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Recording Industry Association of America.
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