Sound & Color

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]

Sound & Color
Studio album by Alabama Shakes
Released	April 17, 2015[1]
Genre	Blues rock roots rock soul Southern rock garage rock Americana soul rock psychedelic soul
Length	47:26
Label	ATO (US) MapleMusic (Canada) Rough Trade (UK)
Producer	Blake Mills, Alabama Shakes[2]
Alabama Shakes chronology
Boys & Girls (2012) Sound & Color (2015)
Singles from Sound & Color
"Don't Wanna Fight" Released: February 10, 2015[3] "Gimme All Your Love" Released: February 2015 "Future People" Released: March 19, 2015[4] "Sound & Color" Released: September 21, 2015

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

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[11]
Metacritic	80/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Chicago Tribune	[14]
The Daily Telegraph	[15]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[16]
The Guardian	[17]
The Independent	[18]
NME	8/10[19]
Pitchfork	8.1/10[20]
Rolling Stone	[21]
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
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[34]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Drive By Baby"	2:20
14.	"Joe"	4:00

International bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Joe"	4:00
14.	"Makin' Me Itch"

Target exclusive bonus CD

No.	Title	Length
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 Chart (2015) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[36] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[37] 52 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] 12 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[39] 40 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[40] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[41] 4 French Albums (SNEP)[42] 41 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 28 Irish Albums (IRMA)[44] 12 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[45] 15 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[46] 27 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[47] 46 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 37 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 10 UK Albums (OCC)[50] 6 US Billboard 200[51] 1 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[52] 1 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[53] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[54] 1 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[55] 8

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[56] 71 US Billboard 200[57] 92 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[58] 8 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[59] 2 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[60] 11 Chart (2016) Position US Billboard 200[61] 169 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[62] 16 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[63] 7 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[64] 15

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
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

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. "Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
6. David Browne (March 25, 2015). "How Alabama Shakes Gambled Big on Wild Second Album 'Sound & Color'". Rolling Stone (1232). New York City: Wenner Media LLC. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
7. Lauretta Charlton (June 12, 2015). "Alabama Shakes: 'There's No Way to Be Original'". Vulture. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
8. 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.
9. Keith Claufield (April 29, 2015). "Alabama Shakes Scores Its First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
10. Chris Payne (December 7, 2015). "Grammy Nominations 2016: Alabama Shakes and Courtney Barnett Surprise in Rock". Billboard.
11. "Sound And Color by Alabama Shakes reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
12. "Reviews for Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes". Metacritic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
13. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes". AllMusic. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
14. Kot, Greg (April 17, 2015). "Alabama Shakes shake up their sound". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
15. Brown, Helen (April 18, 2015). "Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color, review: 'rattling expectations'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
16. Anderson, Kyle (April 28, 2015). "Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Nicolson, Barry (April 14, 2015). "Alabama Shakes – 'Sound & Color'". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
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34. "Sound & Color (Bonus Track Version)". iTunes. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
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43. "Officialcharts.de – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
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48. "Swedishcharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
49. "Swisscharts.com – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
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55. "Alabama Shakes Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
56. "Jaaroverzichten 2015". Ultratop. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
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65. "Canadian album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Music Canada.
66. "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.
67. "American album certifications – Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• Sound & Color at AllMusic
• Sound & Color at Discogs