Alabama Shakes have returned with «I Must Be Dreaming», their first album in more than ten years, and the result is a laidback, psychedelic-soul collection that trades the band's earlier retro rock for something gentler and more experimental. The record, out August 28 on Island Records, finds the trio exploring the tension between personal contentment and the chaos of American politics under President Trump.
The album's title hints at its dual nature. On one side, it functions as protest music, questioning whether the country's political decline can actually be real. On the other, it celebrates life itself, with the ethereal track «Easy» finding singer Brittany Howard expressing delighted disbelief that her relationship with her fiancée could feel so fulfilling and secure. That contradiction, between domestic bliss and a nightmare unfolding outside the front door, defines the record.
The band's sound has evolved considerably since their breakout years. Their first two albums, 2012's «Boys & Girls» and 2015's «Sound & Color», traded on a retro style that was just conservative enough for mainstream rock audiences. When «Sound & Color» topped the Billboard 200 and earned four Grammys, the group seemed unstoppable. Instead, they chose to step away entirely.
Howard recently told the Guardian that the hiatus was a matter of self-preservation. «We were in danger of running the thing into the ground,» she said. Her barnstorming, psychedelic 2024 solo album «What Now» appears to have served as a circuit breaker for the band's creative stagnation. «I Must Be Dreaming» continues in that gently experimental vein, though guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell ensure the group still fuses its gauzy psychedelia with the hookiness of old, as heard on the funky, celebratory «How Love's Supposed To Go».
The pre-release single «I Feel Hope Coming», a drop-dead gorgeous ode to optimism, was an obvious choice to introduce the record. But the album as a whole may be too understated for its own good. «American Dream», a lament for the corruption gripping the country, simply sails by when it should hit like a Molotov cocktail, according to critics. It is to the Shakes' credit that they have tried something new, but such chilled-out sounds are not necessarily the best vehicle for much-needed political protest.
The album marks a significant moment for a band that seemed to vanish at the height of its powers. After the massive success of «Sound & Color», the group's silence was notable. Now, with «I Must Be Dreaming», they have returned not with a rehash of past glories but with a record that attempts to capture the strange, dreamlike quality of living through turbulent times while trying to hold onto what makes life worth living.
Whether the album's gentle approach will resonate with fans expecting the raw energy of their earlier work remains to be seen. But the band's willingness to evolve, and to address the political moment with subtlety rather than bombast, marks a deliberate artistic choice. The result is a record that rewards patience, even if it lacks the bite that protest music often demands.