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Sound & Color

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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
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 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

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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

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"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

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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

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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

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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

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Country Publication Work List Rank Ref.
US Paste Sound & Color The 25 Best Albums of 2015 (So Far)
6
[36]
"Gimme All Your Love" The 25 Best Songs of 2015 (So Far)
9
[37]

Year-end lists

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Country Publication List Rank Ref.
US Billboard 25 Best Albums of 2015
7
[38]
Complex The Best Albums of 2015
29
[39]
Consequence Top 50 Albums of 2015
36
[40]
Entertainment Weekly The 40 Best Albums of 2015
13
[41]
Canada Exclaim! Exclaim!'s Top 20 Pop & Rock Albums
10
[42]
US NPR NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums Of 2015
*
[43]
Rolling Stone The 50 Best Albums of 2015
37
[44]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2015
31
[45]
The New York Times The Best Albums of 2015 (by Jon Pareles)
7
[46]

* denotes an unordered list

Decade-end lists

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Country Publication List Rank Ref.
US Pitchfork The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s
138
[47]

Track listing

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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

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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

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified 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

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  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. ^ 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.
  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.
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  12. ^ a b Kloke, Joshua (April 15, 2015). ">>>Alabama Shakes | NOW Magazine". nowtoronto.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
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  15. ^ a b c 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...
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