Since pioneering experimental blues rock band Alabama Shakes went on hiatus in 2018, lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard has formulated a solo career that’s transformed her into one of contemporary music’s most dynamic creatives. Her 2019 debut project, “Jaime,” was a critical darling that earned her two Grammy nominations alongside some serious year-end-list appreciation thanks to tracks like “He Loves Me” and “Stay High.” During those moments, she truly began to understand how rewarding the risk of striking out one’s own was. 

“I get to be my most true self,” explained Howard to BET. “That’s kind of like what I’m always trying to express with my music. That’s always the avenue I’m trying to go down is like; how do I express myself more truly and more authentically this time this time? And I think I’m just on a path of doing that.” 

For her follow-up, Howard faced the difficult question most artists of her caliber get after putting out such a highly respected album. How do you top yourself? In her case, What Now? For Howard, life is truly like a choose-your-own-adventure.

“You can kind of stick to the guidelines of what’s safe or you can do something that’s challenging and exciting to you,” Howard explained. “This type of music I put on now I just said who cares? I’ll make this and if it dumps or if it’s not good, I’ll just make another album. I poured everything into it because I had a lot of emotions that needed an outlet during the pandemic. So ‘What Now’ is just what I was going through. It’s like a journal.” 

For What Now, Howard released those artistic pressures and ideas she needed to be the best or the greatest. It’s simply about being an artist. This has allowed her to reignite a passion for being creative. It also helps that she worked with frequent collaborator Shawn Everett, who had some serious successes over the past couple of years thanks to working on albums ranging from SZA’s SOS and Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation to 30 by Adele. 

The result is an album that has Howard stretching her musical, songwriting and vocal prowess even further this time around. That includes the funk-tinted titular track that wrestles with the conflicted emotions leading to a break-up through lyrics like “I've been making plans that don't include you anymore / My heart wants to stay, but I don't know what for.” That’s not the only time those themes show up as well. According to Howard, she calls “Samson” the most emotional song for her to listen to. 

“It’s a song just about not being able to choose whether to stay or leave in a relationship and it being just an excruciating decision,” explained Howard of the song with a chorus that has her crooning, “I’m split in two, I don’t know what I wanna do” with honestly that transcends the underlying queer themes. “To me, it’s just so heartbreaking to listen to.” 

Even tracks like “Red Flags” speak on those hindsight thoughts after an intimate relationship is over, but also sees her experimenting with unique drum patterns. The album also has Howard experimenting with new music software like Reason outside her usual go-to Logic. 

That freedom shows itself on the track “Another Day,” which has carefree lyrics like “I believe In a world where we can go outside, And be who we want and see who we like.” The previous track uses a clip from Maya Angelou’s “A Brave and Startling Truth” poem even inspires the song. 

“Angelou was just saying don’t forget that while you’re ruling all of those countries and making your gross domestic product to not forget that we have something so marvelous that we could pour our energy into,” Howard said. “I couldn’t agree more. That inspired me to write that song. It’s also just a philosophy that I have when it comes to humankind. I see the bad, but I’m also hopeful for the best of us.” 

What Now has Howard experimenting with dance music with “Prove It To You,” which impressed house legends like Louis Vega. As someone who enjoys floor-on-the-floor, she was also inspired by Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love.” Calling it a juxtaposition of dancing in the club crying, it’s something new for Howard while serving as a way to challenge herself and try new things. 

Since the last Alabama Shakes album, Sound & Color, Howard has been slowly moving through genres because trying to express herself is difficult when staying creatively in one place. This is part of the beautiful genius of What Now, an album that reveals new layers of Howard’s ambitious originality and vulnerability. 

“Sometimes, in my expression, it feels like a dance song,” said Howard. “Sometimes, in my expression it feels like a rock song. Sometimes, in my expression, it feels like an R&B song. I’m all just trying to get a point and mood across. I’m trying to create a space for this moment in my life and just do that naturally. I’m a student of so many different types of music, so it comes pretty easy.”