Photo courtesy of the Shakes

One of the rarest tricks for artists who work in a vintage style, whether it’s traditional country, garage rock, or old-school soul, is to make music that actually sounds like it’s both contemporary and timeless, rather than basic retro pastiche. That’s not a problem for four-piece soul-pop outfit the Alabama Shakes, who seem to make that distinction effortlessly.

On “I Found You,” singer/guitarist Brittany Howard emotively belts out classic love song lines like “I traveled a long way / and it sure took a long time / to find you / but I sure did find you” just the way Gladys Knight might have, complete with her own Pips echoing the sentiment, in the form of her male backup singers. Combine it with the band’s slow burn verses and exploding choruses, and the effect is staggering, like finding a soul staple that your dad somehow forgot to play for you growing up – and one where the Funk Brothers were influenced by the Pixies.