{"id":2110627,"date":"2026-08-25T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2110627"},"modified":"2026-08-25T09:00:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T06:00:42","slug":"alabama-shakes-i-must-be-dreaming-review-protest-music-without-the-bite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2110627","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Shakes \u2013 \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 review: protest music without the bite"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Alabama-Shakes-Credit-Bobbi-Rich.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Alabama-Shakes-Credit-Bobbi-Rich-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Alabama Shakes I Must Be Dreaming Review\" title=\"Alabama Shakes Credit Bobbi Rich\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Alabama Shakes. Credit: Bobbi Rich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Album Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Alabama Shakes \u2013 \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 review: protest music without the bite<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The trio\u2019s long-awaited comeback is a paean to domestic bliss and a lament for Trump\u2019s America, though it works better as the former<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">3.5<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Jordan Bassett<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-08-25T10:00:42+01:00\">25th August 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The comeback album is fraught with pitfalls. Often, when a band takes a long break and finally returns with a new record, the result is overcooked and overthought, bearing all the signs of its protracted birth. This isn\u2019t an allegation you could level at \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019, Alabama Shakes\u2019 first album in over a decade. As its name suggests, this is a laidback, dreamy collection of psychedelic-soul-influenced songs, though there are two sides to its subject matter.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: For Quiet Light, duality is a fact of life: \u201cEverything is way more connected than we think\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On the one hand, it\u2019s a protest against America\u2019s Trump-directed fall from grace, with the trio asking: <i>can this actually be real?<\/i> On the other, it\u2019s a punch-drunk paean to life itself \u2013 the ethereal \u2018Easy\u2019 finds singer Brittany Howard expressing delighted disbelief that her relationship with her fianc\u00e9e could be so fulfilling and secure. The tension at the heart of this record is its defining feature, as the Shakes explore the contradiction between domestic bliss and the nightmarish political climate that rages outside the front door of the proverbial happy home.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>The band\u2019s music hasn\u2019t always been this complicated. Their wildly successful first two albums, 2012\u2019s \u2018Boys &amp; Girls\u2019 and 2015\u2019s \u2018Sound &amp; Color\u2019, traded on a retro sound that was just conservative enough for a mainstream rock audience. When the latter record shot to the top of the Billboard 200 and picked up four Grammys, it seemed they could do anything. Well, they chose to do\u2026 nothing. Howard recently told the <i>Guardian<\/i> that their hiatus was a matter of self-preservation in the face of burnout: \u201cWe were in danger of running the thing into the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming (Album Trailer)\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-YuzRPzBq8Q?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Perhaps her barnstorming, psychedelic 2024 solo album \u2018What Now\u2019 was a circuit breaker for the band\u2019s creative torpor. \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 certainly continues in its gently experimental vein, though the group \u2013 completed by guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell \u2013 make sure that they fuse their gauzy psychedelia with the hookiness of old (see the funky, celebratory \u2018How Love\u2019s Supposed To Go\u2019). It\u2019s obvious why \u2018I Feel Hope Coming\u2019, a drop-dead gorgeous ode to optimism, was chosen as a pre-release single.<\/p>\n<p>If anything, though, \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 is a little <i>too<\/i> understated and easy on the ear. \u2018American Dream\u2019, a lament for the corruption that has gripped the Land Of The Free, simply sails by when it should hit like a Molotov cocktail. It\u2019s to their credit that the Shakes have tried something new, but such chilled-out sounds aren\u2019t necessarily the best vehicle for much-needed political protest.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Alabama-Shakes-I-Must-Be-Dreaming-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"alabama shakes i must be dreaming review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> Island Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> August 28, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Alabama Shakes<\/li>\n<li>Brittany Howard<\/li>\n<li>Rock<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Queens Of The Stone Age announce details of new album \u2018Perfecth\u2019 with groovy single \u2018Insignificant Other\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Pulp announce Manchester pop-up pub ahead of massive Wythenshawe Park show<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Johnny Marr takes on \u201cassholes with dodgy views\u201d on fiery new single \u2018It\u2019s Time\u2019<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Jack White offers \u00a320 tickets to students for UK and Ireland shows<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Deftones play their biggest UK headline gig with epic London All Points East headline show<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container 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class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The comeback album is fraught with pitfalls. Often, when a band takes a long break and finally returns with a new record, the result is overcooked and overthought, bearing all the signs of its protracted birth. This isn\u2019t an allegation you could level at \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019, Alabama Shakes\u2019 first album in over a decade. As its name suggests, this is a laidback, dreamy collection of psychedelic-soul-influenced songs, though there are two sides to its subject matter.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: For Quiet Light, duality is a fact of life: \u201cEverything is way more connected than we think\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On the one hand, it\u2019s a protest against America\u2019s Trump-directed fall from grace, with the trio asking: <i>can this actually be real?<\/i> On the other, it\u2019s a punch-drunk paean to life itself \u2013 the ethereal \u2018Easy\u2019 finds singer Brittany Howard expressing delighted disbelief that her relationship with her fianc\u00e9e could be so fulfilling and secure. The tension at the heart of this record is its defining feature, as the Shakes explore the contradiction between domestic bliss and the nightmarish political climate that rages outside the front door of the proverbial happy home.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>The band\u2019s music hasn\u2019t always been this complicated. Their wildly successful first two albums, 2012\u2019s \u2018Boys &amp; Girls\u2019 and 2015\u2019s \u2018Sound &amp; Color\u2019, traded on a retro sound that was just conservative enough for a mainstream rock audience. When the latter record shot to the top of the Billboard 200 and picked up four Grammys, it seemed they could do anything. Well, they chose to do\u2026 nothing. Howard recently told the <i>Guardian<\/i> that their hiatus was a matter of self-preservation in the face of burnout: \u201cWe were in danger of running the thing into the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alabama Shakes - I Must Be Dreaming (Album Trailer)\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-YuzRPzBq8Q?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Perhaps her barnstorming, psychedelic 2024 solo album \u2018What Now\u2019 was a circuit breaker for the band\u2019s creative torpor. \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 certainly continues in its gently experimental vein, though the group \u2013 completed by guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell \u2013 make sure that they fuse their gauzy psychedelia with the hookiness of old (see the funky, celebratory \u2018How Love\u2019s Supposed To Go\u2019). It\u2019s obvious why \u2018I Feel Hope Coming\u2019, a drop-dead gorgeous ode to optimism, was chosen as a pre-release single.<\/p>\n<p>If anything, though, \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 is a little <i>too<\/i> understated and easy on the ear. \u2018American Dream\u2019, a lament for the corruption that has gripped the Land Of The Free, simply sails by when it should hit like a Molotov cocktail. It\u2019s to their credit that the Shakes have tried something new, but such chilled-out sounds aren\u2019t necessarily the best vehicle for much-needed political protest.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Alabama-Shakes-I-Must-Be-Dreaming-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"alabama shakes i must be dreaming review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> Island Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> August 28, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/alabama-shakes-i-must-be-dreaming-review-3964489&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Alabama-Shakes-Credit-Bobbi-Rich.jpg&#8221;] Alabama Shakes. Credit: Bobbi Rich ReviewsAlbum Reviews Alabama Shakes \u2013 \u2018I Must Be Dreaming\u2019 review: protest music without the bite The trio\u2019s long-awaited comeback is a paean to domestic bliss and a lament for Trump\u2019s America, though it works better as the former 3.5 By Jordan Bassett 25th August 2026 The comeback [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2110627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2110627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2110627\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2110627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2110627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2110627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}