Sound & Color
Sound & Color | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 17, 2015[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:26 | |||
Label |
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Producer | Blake Mills, Alabama Shakes[2] | |||
Alabama Shakes chronology | ||||
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Singles from Sound & Color | ||||
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Sound & Color is the second studio album by American rock band Alabama Shakes. It was released on April 17, 2015 via ATO Records, MapleMusic Recordings and Rough Trade Records.[5]
The album 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. Sound & Color was a critical success and received six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year. It ultimately won 4 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.[6] 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.[6] Sound & Color is steeped in several different genres, touching on shoegaze to bands such as MC5.[7]
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".[8]
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.
Commercial performance
The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 96,000 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.[9] The album has sold 306,000 copies in the US as of December 2015.[10]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[11] |
Metacritic | 80/100[12] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Daily Telegraph | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[16] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Independent | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10[19] |
Pitchfork | 8.1/10[20] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 7/10[22] |
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".[12] 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."[23] 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."[19]
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.[24]
Country | Publication | List | Rank |
---|---|---|---|
US | Billboard[25] | 25 Best Albums of 2015 | 7
|
US | Complex[26] | The Best Albums of 2015 | 29
|
US | Consequence of Sound[27] | Top 50 Albums of 2015 | 36
|
US | Entertainment Weekly[28] | The 40 Best Albums of 2015 | 13
|
US | Pitchfork[29] | Top 200 Best Albums of the 2010s | 138
|
US | Rolling Stone[30] | The 50 Best Albums of 2015 | 37
|
US | Rough Trade[31] | Albums of the Year 2015 | 31
|
US | The New York Times[32] | The Best Albums of 2015 (by Jon Pareles) | 7
|
* denotes an unordered list
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[33]
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "Drive By Baby" | 2:20 |
14. | "Joe" | 4:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
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13. | "Joe" | 4:00 |
14. | "Makin' Me Itch" |
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from Sound & Color liner notes.[35]
Alabama Shakes
- Brittany Howard − vocals (all), guitar (2–12), vibraphone (1, 7, 11), percussion (4, 6, 12), keyboards (11, 12)
- Heath Fogg − guitar (all), percussion (6, 12)
- Zac Cockrell − bass (all), percussion (6, 7, 12)
- Steve Johnson − drums (all), percussion (2, 3, 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
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Canada (Music Canada)[65] | Gold | 40,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[66] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[67] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Release group "Sound & Color" by Alabama Shakes". MusicBrainz. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ "Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes - Credits". AllMusic.
- ^ "Don't Wanna Fight - Alabama Shakes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Lauretta Charlton (June 12, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: 'There's No Way to Be Original'". Vulture. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Keith Claufield (April 29, 2015). "Alabama Shakes Scores Its First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
- ^ Chris Payne (December 7, 2015). "Grammy Nominations 2016: Alabama Shakes and Courtney Barnett Surprise in Rock". Billboard.
- ^ "Sound And Color by Alabama Shakes reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b "Reviews for Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes". Metacritic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Kot, Greg (April 17, 2015). "Alabama Shakes shake up their sound". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Brown, Helen (April 18, 2015). "Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color, review: 'rattling expectations'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Kyle (April 28, 2015). "Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Nicolson, Barry (April 14, 2015). "Alabama Shakes – 'Sound & Color'". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
- ^ Dombal, Ryan (April 23, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: Sound & Color". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Hermes, Will (April 21, 2015). "Sound & Color". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Aftandilians, Natasha (April 22, 2015). "Review: Alabama Shakes Can't Be Tamed on the Ripping 'Sound and Color'". Spin. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ^ Warner, Andrea (April 17, 2015). "Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- ^ "Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees". Billboard. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ "Billboard.com's 25 Best Albums of 2015: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 15, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
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- ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2015". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
- ^ "The 40 Best Albums of 2015". Entertainment Weekly. December 9, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
- ^ Pitchfork (8 October 2019). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
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- ^ "Albums of the Year 2015". Rough Trade. Rough Trade. November 25, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
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- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Music Canada.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "American album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Recording Industry Association of America.