The Athens, Alabama trio breaks a decade of silence with a luminous and reflective track, their first since their acclaimed Sound & Color (2015).
A decade of waiting
Ten years have passed since Alabama Shakes shook the rock scene with Sound & Color, an album that established them as one of the most original bands of the 21st century. After that impact and a long break, the group returns with “Another Life”, a song that marks a new chapter in their history and also marks their debut on the Island Records label.
Brittany Howard’s voice, intact and more personal than ever.
In the official statement, vocalist and guitarist Brittany Howard explained the origin of the song:
“When I wrote ‘Another Life,’ I was thinking about all the lives we carry: the ones we live, the ones we leave behind because of different decisions, the goodbyes and the encounters that seem divine. This song is about those threads that connect us across time and space. In the end, a goodbye is never final: it’s a ‘see you later’.”
The song encapsulates that vision: expansive rock, loaded with soulful overtones and spiritual atmosphere, that puts Howard’s voice back at the center of the emotion.
A return with memory and future
The return of Alabama Shakes is not just a one-off release. The band – Howard along with Heath Fogg (guitar) and Zac Cockrell (bass) – is currently on its first tour since 2017, which will continue through the end of September.
It’s worth remembering that, in 2018, the group went on indefinite hiatus, which gave Brittany Howard room to release two solo albums – Jaime (2019) and What Now (2023). Both confirmed her talent as a songwriter, but the chemistry of Alabama Shakes seemed suspended in the air… until now.
Another chapter in the history of modern rock
“Another Life” arrives as more than just a single: it is the promise of continuity, the sign that one of the most influential bands of the last 15 years is active again. In a 2025 dominated by fleeting releases, Alabama Shakes remind us that patience can have an immense sonic reward.
