Prove It To You— Brittany Howard

#365Songs: January 26th

Brittany Howard has one of those voices that wakes you up. Soulful, gospel-laden, loud, with a rock sensibility and a whole lot of R&B. From her years with the Alabama Shakes to her recent solo work, she’s produced perfectly consistent, reliably decent music. Of all the places I can imagine hearing her, though, I never imagined a dance floor.

Until today.

She dropped What Now late last year, a funk-heavy song that suggested a turn towards a new direction. And a recent New York Times article quoted singer-songwriter Becca Mancari, who said, “It feels like this liberated, queer Black music. You could hear these songs in a queer club, which I’d never thought about a Brittany song.”

This is never more evident than on today’s new track, Prove It To You, a bass-driven, synth heavy mood bomb that could power a dance floor. It’s shocking, really, how natural she sounds in this space, as if she’s channeled Donna Summer’s ghost and pulled the spirit into a new millennium.

I love this song, and I want more of this sound from her. Now.

I’ve never been good at saying what I mean
Every time I try, it comes out incomplete
Believe me, baby
I will show you how I feel for you right now

All I wanna do is prove it to you
All I wanna do is prove it to you
All I wanna do is prove it to you

I’ve never been any good at falling in love
I fall so hard I never get up
Don’t hurt me, girl
I can’t take it no more
Makes me ask what I’m doing it for

’Cause I love the way you make me feel
I hope I do it for you, baby

All I wanna do is prove it to you
All I wanna do is prove it to you
All I wanna do is prove it to you