If you’ve been missing that indie rock & soul sound from the “Boys & Girls” album, it’s back.
Alabama Shakes guitarist Heath Fogg is leading a new project called Sun on Shade. The first single is titled “Tiger Lillies.” The track’s steady heartfelt groove and occasional semi-ambient edges recall the Shakes’ 2012 debut album. In fact, the basic tracks sound like they could be a “Boys & Girls” outtake.
According to a press release, a self-titled Sun on Shade album, out June 26, also features fellow Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell, drummer Steve Johnson and keyboardist Ben Tanner.
With that chassis, it’s tempting to call Sun on Shade a Southern hipster version of Velvet Revolver, the early 2000s hard-rock band that was basically “Use Your Illusion” era Guns N’ Roses sans Axl Rose. But unlike VR, which swapped in exiled Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland for Rose, Sun on Shade features several different lead singers pinch-hitting for dynamic Shakes vocalist Brittany Howard, who pressed pause on the band in 2019 to pursue a solo career.
On “Tiger Lillies” erstwhile Shakes touring keyboardist Lloyd Buchanan sings lead. Buchanans’ vocals are rich, limber and simpatico to Fogg, Cockrell and Johnson’s chicken-fried iPhone mojo.
Guest vocalists on the Sun on Shade album also include talented sugar-voiced ex-Drive-By Truckers bassist Shonna Tucker, which feels like a masterstroke. Sam Doores, from former Shakes tour-mates Deslondes and Hurrary for the Riff Raff, lends vocals as well. The nine tracks slated for “Sun on Shade” also include: “Light Behind The Eyes,” “Mainline Getaway,” “I Can’t Entertain You,” “Flash Of Light,” “Got It Easy,” “Z71,” “Tell Me How Long” and " Up From The Water.” More info at sunonshade.com.
“Electronic artists will make records where every song has a featured vocalist on it.,” Fogg says in a press release. “I wanted the album to be like that – like a mixtape or a collaborative collage of ideas and artists. I just see it like a team, and for this game I got picked as the team captain.”
Fogg is the nicest, most understated dude from a famous band you’ll ever meet. Asked during our 2015 interview about his most extravagant purchase since the Shakes took off, he said, “I feel like my rock-star stories are boring. I haven’t purchased too much. We get to support our families and do what we love and I think that’s the most extravagant thing I could ever ask for.”
On “Tiger Lillies” it’s cool to hear Fogg’s river-flow, rock-solid guitar riffs again. No, he isn’t going to make anyone forget Eddie Van Halen, but Fogg’s groove and big-picture song instincts are way tasty. In an interview for 2015 sophomore Shakes LP “Sound & Color,” Fogg told me the first song he ever learned to play on guitar was Ted Nugent rocker “Cat Scratch Fever,” when Fogg was 10-years-old. Later on, he drew six-string inspiration from sources such as Motown and The Rolling Stones.
Alabama Shakes formed in Athens. The band played their first ever gig in May 2009 at Decatur nightspot The Brick. The set was heavy on covers, including versions of Led Zeppelin and James Brown songs. According to Shakes drummer Steve Johnson’s dad Dave Johnson, only about 30 people were at the show. By those who were there were into it.
In 2011, the Shakes became blog-famous and gained buzz when a Los Angeles music writer posted a clip of their song “You Ain’t Alone” online. “Boys & Girls” was released and went on to go platinum. The band later scored two Grammys for the chart-topping “Sound & Color.”
Howard’s overtly arty debut solo LP “Jaime” was well-received, and recently nominated for Americana Music Awards. In an interview last year with Rolling Stone writer Patrick Doyle, in regards to Alabama Shakes, Howard said, “Those are my bro-bros for life. But right now they’re just letting me do my thing.” It’s perhaps worth noting, Sun on Shade’s LP is being released on ATO Records, the same imprint of Howard and Alabama Shakes.
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