NEW ALBUMS
SLEEVENOTES
1 HistoryRepeats
2 HeLovesMe
3 Georgia
4 StayHigh
5 Tomorrow
6 Short& Sweet
7 13thCentury
Metal
8 Baby
9 GoatHead
10 Presence
11 RunToMe
Recordedat:
ShawnEverett’s
studio,Los
Angeles
Engineeredby:
ShawnEverett
Personnel:
BrittanyHoward
(guitar,vocals),
ZacCockrell
(bassguitar),
RobertGlasper
(keyboards),Nate
Smith (drums)
BRANTLEY
GUTIERREZ,
KEVIN
MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES FOR THE ROCK AND ROLL
HALL
OF
FAME
Howard,Questlove
andFeliciaCollinspay
tributetoSisterRosetta
Tharpe, April 14, 2018
20 • UNCUT• OCTOBER 2019
aswellis engineerShawnEverett,
thein-demandproducerforwhom
Sound& Colorwasalmostasbiga
breakthroughasit wasforAlabama
Shakes– he’sgoneontoworkwithThe
WarOnDrugs,JohnLegend,Kacey
MusgravesandJennyLewis.
InEverett’sLAstudio,Howarddived
deeperintotheuncannyvalleybetween
vintagecrackleandfuturesleekthey
probedonSound& Color. She’shelpedby
a coupleofringerssteepedinjazz:Robert
Glasper,thehip-hopfusionistwhohas
beena featuredkeyboardistwithKendrick
Lamar,Q-TipandMaxwell,anddrummer
NateSmith,whostudiedunderthewingof
BettyCarterandhasperformedwithRavi
ColtraneandDaveHolland.
Theresult,a tidy 35 minutesand
11 tracks,won’tbemistakenfora jazz
album,buttheextensivechopsofGlasper
andSmithexpandHoward’ssonic
paletteinfruitfulways.Withouttheriffier
leadsofShakesguitaristHeathFogg,
Howarddeploysa moresupplesix-string
approach,wigglingaroundherrhythm
sectiononopener“HistoryRepeats”
andtheflirtatious,defiant“Baby”,or
distortinghertoneintooblivion(while
counterpointinga harp,noless)on
“Presence”.Therestraintallowstherare
momentsofsoloing– liketheEQ-popping
fillsin“HeLovesMe”– tosingebrightly.
Whentheguitarfadesintothe
background,thedynamicsexpand
evenfurther,asonthesame-sexslow
jam“Georgia”,whichprogressesfrom
a Rhodes-drivenseductionthrougha
churchorganbridgebeforeexplodingin
a climaxofneonsynths.Thecavernous
gateddrumsandswirlingkeyboardsof
“RunToMe”letHowardhomage“Nothing
Compares2 U”witha romantic,epiclead
vocalsubvertedsonicallybybeingsung
intohermobilephone.
ThroughoutJaime, Howardalso
continuestochallengetheimpressive
instrumentofhervoiceinunpredictable
ways,sittingmoreandmoreather
upperranges,whereit frayswiththe
warmthofa treasuredoldblanket.She
relisheswritingmelodiesthatspiraloff
inunpredictabledirections;“ShortAnd
Sweet”, the album’s one solo-guitar-
and-vocalperformance,is asfullof
musicologicaltanglesasa DirtyProjectors
song,effortlesslyspanningoctavesand
navigatingabrupttemposhifts.
Howarddoesn’tshyawayfromthe
occasionalthrowbackonJaime, most
blatantlyon“StayHigh”,whichsounds
likea CurtisMayfieldtrackbeamedin
froma transistorradioin1970,coydrugs/
sexmetaphorsandall.Butmorenostalgic
touchpointscomefrom’80s/’90sR&B–
anerathatmakesmuchmoretemporal
senseforthe30-year-oldHoward’s
childhood.“Tomorrow”is a suaveexercise
innewjackswing,includingplayfulcalls
andresponseswitha choirofherself(Q:
“Nowthatwehere,whatyougonnadowith
it?” A:“We’regonnasaywhatthefuck!”)
andanicy,cymbal-tappinginterlude.
Someofthemostimpressivemoments
onthealbumcomewhenthemusicand
lyricsclash.“GoatHead”launcheswitha
fullminuteofserene,sample-readygroove
beforethelaid-backvibesaresoured,
asHowardrecountsthedetailsofa hate
crimecommittedagainstherinterracial
familydecadesagoandruminatesonher
racialidentity(“I’monedropofthree-fifths,
right?”).Itsphotonegativeis thethrilling
“13thCenturyMetal”,whereshelayersa
spoken-wordself-affirmingsermonover
anintensejamofdistortedorganand
drumsthatconcludeswiththerepeated
mantraof“Giveintolove”, harmonisedto
RoyThomasBakerextremes.
Thatstrainofself-careandpersonal
confidencerecursfrequentlyonJaime,
a salveforthe heavy memories Howard
excavatesalongtheway.“HeLovesMe”
takesa Christianstancebasedaround
guilt-freepositivity– “I knowHestillloves
mewhenI’msmokingblunts/Heloves
mewhenI’mdrinkingtoomuch” –
andinterspersesYouTubesamples
ofHoustonpastorTerryK Anderson
preachingagainstanxietywithcalm
humour.If thealbum’sfirsttrack
ominouslychants,“Historyrepeats
andwedefeatourselves,” itslasttrack
concludeswithitsowncounter-argument:
“There’snoweaponagainstthisloneliness/
Exceptmylovingarms.”
That’sa verytimelyreasontomakea
soloalbumin2019,when“thepersonal
is political”isn’tjusta catchyslogan,but
valuableadviceforsurvivalandmental
health.Puttinghernameontherecord
isn’taboutHoward’sego,butabout
seizingherrighttocreativeindependence
- tomakethemusicaldecisionsherself
andtosingaboutthesubjectsshewants,
nomatterhowuncomfortablethey
makeusfeel.Happily,herquestfor
personalfulfilmentdoublesasa creative
bloomaswell,revealing new dimensions
of her talent.
THUNDERBITCH
Thunderbitch
2015
Justfivemonthsafterthe
releaseofSound& Color,
HowardandsomeNashville
buddiesdroppedthisraw,surpriserelease.
InThunderbitch, Howardstrippedbackthe
fussierelementsofhermaingigforgarage-
rockbrazenenoughtoincludea trackcalled,
simply,“I JustWannaRock’n’Roll”,whileher
sweary,primalhowlmadegood on her oft-
quoted love of Bon Scott.
BERMUDATRIANGLE
“Suzanne” 2017
Formedwithsinger-songwritersJesseLafser
andBeccaMancari,BermudaTrianglewasa
rareacousticdiversionforHoward.“Suzanne”,
theironereleasedsongwithHowardonlead
vocals,surfsa gentlebossanovarhythmand
lamentsTheOtherWoman.Thestripped-
downsettingwasa strangefit,whichshe
admitsherself:“Mymusicis reallycomposed,
withlotsofmovingpieces,sothatinspiredme
toreallypaymoreattentiontowhat I write and
try to be a better songwriter.”
“That’sAll”
(liveatthe 2018 RockAndRollHallOf
Fameinductionceremony) 2018
“It’sbeenlongoverdue,”Howardstarts,before
lettingthemusicdotheinductingofrock’n’roll
pioneerSisterRosettaTharpe.Afterherlong
wait,Tharpemightstillonlygetthreeminutes,
butHowardmakesthemostofit withripping
bluesfillsanda brassyvocalperformance
punctuatedwithhand-clapsandfist-pumps.
It’stherarerecentglimpseofhowwellHoward
couldplaythe traditionalist, if that were her
only goal.
HOWTOBUY...
H OWA R D’ S WAY
Three Brittany detours on the journeytoJaime
Howard:“Why
don’tI justdo
it thewayI
want to do it”
