Alabama Shakes return after almost a decade on hiatus with Another Life, a comeback single that shows they’ve lost none of their garage-soul fire.

Is it really 13 years since Alabama Shakes burst into our lives with Hold On, that irrepressible fusion of Southern soul and Southern rock? 

Well yes, but after two hugely successful albums they went on indefinite hiatus while singer Brittany Howard released solo albums, they are back sounding better than ever.

Howard, who was working as a postwoman when the band began, is the quintessential big woman with a big voice; both aspects have only got bigger during the time they’ve been away.

Another Life is the perfect song to announce a comeback. Its backbone is, as ever, pure garage rock, and those vocals are pure soul, evoking the vintage sounds of the Muscle Shoals studios.

Close to where they grew up in Alabama, it’s where so many soul classics were recorded, forming an inescapable reference point for the band. “Can we try again?” pleads Howard. “Can we try again in another life?”

In a recent interview, Howard said she was going for a sound that referenced “British soul rock from the 1960s”, citing Tom Jones as an example.

It’s a huuuuuuge song, and here are the Shakes – Howard, bassist Zac Cockrell and guitarist Heath Fogg – playing it live at a comeback gig at Red Rocks. 

And here they were back when they began with their big hit Hold On: