What happens when a band steps away for years, lives different lives, and eventually finds its way back into the same room?
For Alabama Shakes, the answer is I Must Be Dreaming, an album born from rediscovery, reflection and the strange beauty of finding something familiar again.
The band, featuring Brittany Howard, Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell, will release their first album in 11 years on August 28 through Island Records. The record follows their 2015 breakthrough Sound & Color and marks a new chapter after the group returned from hiatus with fresh music.
Alabama Shakes stepped away in 2018, returning last August with “Another Life,” their first new song in a decade. Earlier this year, they followed it with the politically charged single “American Dream.”
Howard says the album title carries two different meanings.
“There’s a double meaning to it,” she explained. “It could be saying, ‘I must be dreaming, because the world is so fucking crazy right now.’ But it could also mean, ‘I must be dreaming, because the world is so incredibly beautiful.’ Both those things can be true at once.”
The band’s next single, “I Feel Hope Coming,” arrives July 10. Howard says the song reflects the optimism she sees in younger generations.
“This younger generation makes me feel hopeful because they can see through all the political lies,” she said. “That song’s about holding onto that hope, and refusing to give up.”
Fogg added: “I’m really happy that song exists. It came from such a joyful moment of collaboration, and exemplifies everything I love about this band being reborn.”
Recorded in Nashville at Sound Emporium Studios and Blackbird Studio, I Must Be Dreaming explores love, mortality, human connection and the contradictions of modern life through a psychedelic soul sound. The album was produced by the band alongside Shawn Everett, known for his work with The Killers and other artists.
The album expands on the fearless experimentation that defined Sound & Color, while showing where Alabama Shakes are headed now.
The tracklist for I Must Be Dreaming
- “Tea Time”
- “Another Life”
- “Garden”
- “I Feel Hope Coming”
- “Time”
- “Friends”
- “Easy”
- “How Love’s Supposed To Go”
- “Waist Deep”
- “American Dream”
- “Tied To You”
Since Alabama Shakes’ hiatus, Howard released two solo albums, 2019’s Jaime and 2024’s What Now. The band reunited publicly in December 2024 during a surprise hometown performance in Alabama, where Howard brought Fogg and Cockrell onstage after initially being scheduled to perform solo.
With their return, will I Must Be Dreaming be Alabama Shakes’ greatest chapter yet?
