# Jaime (album)
**Jaime** is the debut solo album by [Brittany Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/brittany-howard), the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of [Alabama Shakes](https://www.edgepedia.org/alabama-shakes), released on September 20, 2019 through ATO Records. It is named for Howard's older sister, who died at 13 of retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer, when Brittany was 8, and who first taught her to write songs and play piano.[1](https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/brittany-howard-jaime-interview/) The Guardian's review places the album in neo-soul, and critics noted its mix of vintage soul, hip-hop rhythms, funk, and synth-rock as a departure from the Shakes' roots-rock sound.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/20/brittany-howard-jaime-review) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist and release | Debut solo album by Brittany Howard; September 20, 2019, ATO Records[4](https://musicrow.com/2019/06/brittany-howard-steps-out-on-her-own-with-solo-debut-jaime/) |
| Length and tracks | 11 songs, 35 minutes[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/jaime/1467826748) |
| Title | In memoriam for Howard's sister Jaime, who died at 13 of retinoblastoma when Brittany was 8[1](https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/brittany-howard-jaime-interview/) |
| Recording | Written in Topanga Canyon, California; recorded from September 2018 with producer and engineer Shawn Everett[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-09-17/brittany-howard-solo-alabama-shakes-jaime) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 88 on Metacritic, based on 19 critic reviews, all positive[7](https://www.metacritic.com/music/jaime/brittany-howard) |
| Grammy recognition | Nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 63rd Grammy Awards; "Stay High" won Best Rock Song[8](https://www.grammy.com/artists/brittany-howard/3375/) |
| Follow-up | Second solo album *What Now*, released in 2024[9](https://apnews.com/article/a23ded4a09d188adaf4d10404024cb7b) |
## Background
Howard announced her step back from Alabama Shakes in 2018 after a spell of writer's block, telling her bandmates she would be working on her own.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/) The idea for a solo record had come to her during a road trip across the United States with her partner, and she had been considering a solo album since she was 11 years old in Alabama.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-09-17/brittany-howard-solo-alabama-shakes-jaime) She called Shawn Everett, the producer, engineer, and mixer who had worked on Alabama Shakes' Grammy-winning 2015 album *Sound & Color*, and they settled on recording in September 2018, which gave her three months to write songs.[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-09-17/brittany-howard-solo-alabama-shakes-jaime)
**Writing process.** Howard drove from Nashville to Topanga, a small town in [Los Angeles County](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-county) wedged between the mountains and the beach, and stayed there for months.[4](https://musicrow.com/2019/06/brittany-howard-steps-out-on-her-own-with-solo-debut-jaime/) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-09-17/brittany-howard-solo-alabama-shakes-jaime) Working in a greenhouse in Topanga Canyon, she first wrote out a memoir of her life up until the founding of Alabama Shakes, then transposed that material into songwriting.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/) She described the start of the project as panic: she knew the album should not sound "too much like anything," so she shut off the music around her to prevent subconscious influence.[10](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/brittany-howard-interview-2019-jaime-christian-bale-alabama-shakes-2549515) She built the songs on her laptop using a Universal Audio interface with one microphone before bringing in musicians.[11](https://tapeop.com/interviews/133/making-of-brittany-howard-jamie)
## Recording and personnel
Howard wrote and composed all of the music on the album and played all of its guitar parts.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/) She produced the record herself and has said she was excited, as a woman in 2019, to have done so, partly because people had wrongly assumed that Alabama Shakes' co-producer [Blake Mills](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-mills) wrote the band's songs.[1](https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/brittany-howard-jaime-interview/) AllMusic lists the recording locations as Electro-Vox Recording Studio, Subtle McNugget, and United Recording, all in Los Angeles.[12](https://www.allmusic.com/album/jaime-mw0003294682)
The session players were Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell, jazz drummer Nate Smith, jazz pianist [Robert Glasper](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-glasper), and keyboardist Dan Horton.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/) "13th Century Metal" grew out of a studio jam between Glasper and Smith.[4](https://musicrow.com/2019/06/brittany-howard-steps-out-on-her-own-with-solo-debut-jaime/) Everett's studio work included unusual choices such as putting contact microphones on the celesta for "Stay High," and Howard described the sessions as recording section by section.[11](https://tapeop.com/interviews/133/making-of-brittany-howard-jamie)
## Songs and themes
The album's 11 tracks are: "History Repeats," "He Loves Me," "Georgia," "Stay High," "Tomorrow," "Short and Sweet," "13th Century Metal," "Baby," "Goat Head," "Presence," and "Run to Me."[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/jaime/1467826748) Howard said the record is not about her sister but about herself: "The title is in memoriam, and she definitely did shape me as a human being. But, the record is not about her. It's about me."[4](https://musicrow.com/2019/06/brittany-howard-steps-out-on-her-own-with-solo-debut-jaime/)
Several songs draw directly on Howard's life. "Goat Head" addresses a hate crime committed against her father, a Black man married to Howard's white mother, when Howard was a baby; someone slashed the family car's tires and left a goat's head in the back seat, an incident in Athens, Alabama that her mother later recounted to her.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/) "Georgia" is a queer love song written from the perspective of a young girl with a crush on an older girl.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/) "He Loves Me" examines her relationship with religion, with Howard giving up church while concluding that God does not judge her for drinking and smoking.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/20/brittany-howard-jaime-review) "13th Century Metal," written in response to Prince's death, Trump's election, and a depressed world, is a nearly five-minute spoken sermon over a one-take jam, with lines such as "I am dedicated to oppose those whose will is to divide us."[1](https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/brittany-howard-jaime-interview/) "History Repeats," the lead single shared on June 25, 2019, Howard described as both personal and about the human species: "Our times of success may propel us forward, but our repeating failures hold us back from evolving into harmony."[4](https://musicrow.com/2019/06/brittany-howard-steps-out-on-her-own-with-solo-debut-jaime/)
## Reception and awards
Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 88, labeled "universal acclaim," from 19 critic reviews, all of them positive, with a user score of 7.9 from 57 ratings.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/music/jaime/brittany-howard) Reviewers highlighted the lo-fi, scrap-like construction of the songs, rhythms between hip-hop and neo-soul, and Howard's voice as the element centering the album.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/20/brittany-howard-jaime-review) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/)
**Grammy Awards.** "History Repeats" earned nominations for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.[8](https://www.grammy.com/artists/brittany-howard/3375/) At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, *Jaime* was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, "Stay High" won Best Rock Song, and "Goat Head" and "Short and Sweet" were nominated for Best R&B Solo Performance and Best American Roots Performance respectively.[8](https://www.grammy.com/artists/brittany-howard/3375/)
## Legacy
A companion release, *Jaime Reimagined*, collected fresh takes and remixes of the album's 11 songs and was released by ATO Records on vinyl on September 24.[13](https://brittanyhoward.bandcamp.com/album/jaime-reimagined) Howard's second solo album, *What Now*, arrived in 2024; the Associated Press described it as more experimental than her 2019 debut.[9](https://apnews.com/article/a23ded4a09d188adaf4d10404024cb7b) Pitchfork's review of *What Now* credited *Jaime* as the point where Howard's experimentation truly blossomed, moving between quiet torch songs and raucous funk-rock mixed with electronica.[14](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-what-now/)
## References
1. [Brittany Howard on Her Solo Debut, Her Black Heroes, and Owning Her Greatness, Pitchfork (September 17, 2019)](https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/brittany-howard-jaime-interview/)
2. [Brittany Howard: Jaime review – Alabama Shakes singer's luminous neo-soul, The Guardian (September 20, 2019)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/20/brittany-howard-jaime-review)
3. [Brittany Howard: Jaime Album Review, Pitchfork (September 20, 2019)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-jaime/)
4. [Brittany Howard Steps Out On Her Own With Solo Debut 'Jaime', MusicRow (June 25, 2019)](https://musicrow.com/2019/06/brittany-howard-steps-out-on-her-own-with-solo-debut-jaime/)
5. [Jaime – Album by Brittany Howard, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/jaime/1467826748)
6. [How Brittany Howard got married, went solo and learned to love herself, Los Angeles Times (September 17, 2019)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2019-09-17/brittany-howard-solo-alabama-shakes-jaime)
7. [Jaime by Brittany Howard Reviews and Tracks, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/jaime/brittany-howard)
8. [Brittany Howard Grammy Awards and Nominations, Recording Academy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/brittany-howard/3375/)
9. [Brittany Howard returns with a new album, 'What Now,' and songs she calls 'like journal keeping', AP News (February 2024)](https://apnews.com/article/a23ded4a09d188adaf4d10404024cb7b)
10. [Brittany Howard interview: the Alabama Shakes frontwoman goes solo, NME (September 19, 2019)](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/brittany-howard-interview-2019-jaime-christian-bale-alabama-shakes-2549515)
11. [Brittany Howard & Shawn Everett: Being Imperfect, Tape Op #133](https://tapeop.com/interviews/133/making-of-brittany-howard-jamie)
12. [Jaime – Brittany Howard Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/jaime-mw0003294682)
13. [Jaime Reimagined – Brittany Howard, Bandcamp](https://brittanyhoward.bandcamp.com/album/jaime-reimagined)
14. [Brittany Howard: What Now Album Review, Pitchfork (February 2024)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/brittany-howard-what-now/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › R&B and soul albums › 2000s and 2010s R&B albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license