Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls – review

It's not difficult to see why the Alabama Shakes have caused a stir. They've provoked a vaguely Lana Del Reyish witch-hunt in the stupider areas of the blogosphere – a very 2012 sign that you're destined for big things. You'd have a hard time arguing that Brittany Howard has anything other than a magnificent voice – she can shift from the heartbroken sensuality of the title track to something that sounds not unlike celebrity Alabama Shakes fan Jack White at full throttle – and the songwriting is decent enough. But Boys & Girls feels slightly polite and artfully constructed, as if the rest of the band are too respectful of their influences to truly let rip. Not something you suspect is going to bother a certain kind of heritage rock mag-buying fan, who feels the same degree of reverence towards 60s country-soul and Creedence Clearwater Revival as the Alabama Shakes do, and is likely to snap Boys and Girls up, but a shame if you prefer this kind of thing raw and frayed round the edges.