Alabama Shakes – I Must Be Dreaming

Alabama Shakes return with I Must Be Dreaming, their first new album in more than a decade and a long-awaited follow-up to the Grammy-winning Sound & Color. The Athens, Alabama band once again work with producer Shawn Everett, recording at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios and Blackbird Studio. The new record expands the group’s instinctive blend of rock and soul into a more spacious, psychedelic setting without losing the physical intensity that made their earlier work so distinctive.

The band first emerged in 2009 and rapidly became one of the defining American rock groups of the following decade. Their 2012 debut Boys & Girls introduced an urgent, roots-connected sound to a global audience, while 2015’s Sound & Color pushed far beyond those foundations with adventurous production and arrangements. That record debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and won four Grammy Awards, establishing Alabama Shakes as a band willing to evolve rather than repeat themselves.

I Must Be Dreaming continues that exploratory path. The material leans toward a viscerally charged form of psychedelic soul, using texture, atmosphere and space to frame reflections on time, mortality, love and the strange dissonance of modern life. The production is lush when it needs to be, but the group’s direct emotional force remains central throughout.

This vinyl release is available in two editions under one listing: a standard black pressing and a limited Daydream Yellow edition for HMV and independent retailers. Whether returning after years with the band or discovering them for the first time, I Must Be Dreaming captures Alabama Shakes in a renewed creative phase—recognisable in spirit, but clearly interested in moving forward.

For record buyers, Alabama Shakes – I Must Be Dreaming also works as a strong physical edition of this material, with the vinyl format giving the music room to unfold as a complete listening experience. The release sits naturally within Island's catalogue while retaining the character of Alabama Shakes's own work. It is a considered addition for collectors as well as listeners approaching the music for the first time.