After critical acclaim with the Alabama Shakes, the fiery frontwoman goes it alone.
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They quickly earned the admiration of funk and rock heroes across generations.
Work on new music stalled.
Howard, now 30, called a meeting with her band to suggest a breather.
Free from obligations and distractions in Music City, Howard felt renewed.
Once I kind of gave up trying to write, she explains, then I could write.
Telling my story just kinda happened, Howard says.
It wasnt something that I did on purpose.
Its just, thats all I wanted to talk about when I was writing this record.
The palpable feeling of otherness in a small town is one of the sources ofJaimes power.
Howard was first inspired looking out at America on the road, faced with our divisive reality.
You gotta watch your own back.
Georgia depicts a budding same-sex crush from the perspective of a girl yearning for the attention of a classmate.
I dont look anything like that.
After ping-ponging between Nashville and the West Coast, songwriting commenced in earnest in Topanga Canyon.
During her break from the Shakes, Howard began writing a memoir on Lasfers suggestion.
Just because someones not here in the physical world doesnt mean theyre not here, she says.
Every step of the way, my sisters been here.
So, to me its a team effort.
I know she sees what I do, for sure.
Howard remembers childhood as both carefree and tumultuous; the loss of her sister was the dividing line.
The early years were full of music and discovery.
When we came into the world, we didnt have a lot of money, she recalls.
My sister taught me to have fun without having anything, really.
We listened to music.
Wed make a song.
Wed go play outside.
She taught me how to use my imagination.
During Jaimes illness, their home burned down, and Howard has often wondered whether it was foul play.
After her sister died, Howards family stopped going to church.
Her parents got divorced.
I changed my mind about God when I was, like, 9 years old, she recalls.
I was like, He does not exist.
Like, Aw man, fuck it.
It was full of stuff that didnt make no sense to me.
Jaimes He Loves Me is about Howards journey back to faith on her own terms.
My mom had all these spiritual books lying around, she recalls.
It reveals another side of the singer musically.
Howard is cagey about the future of the Shakes.
But this is a lot more thrilling.
Making my own mistakes, not having to drag anybody in it with me.
Still, like any great soul artist, she remembers her roots.
They didnt pay us, Howard recalls, but they believed in us.
