BRITTANY HOWARD Jaime (Sony) When Alabama Shakes arrived in 2012, doing the old/new thing of mixing rock and soul but with a kind of garage-y dirtiness, Brittany Howard’s band felt energised within constraints of the form. She had grittiness and soulfulness; they had punch and swing; and the independently recorded debut, Boys & Girls, was fresh and loaded with tunes. You couldn’t tell if this band had a future but it felt very present, and that was exciting. By their second a