Alabama Shakes return after more than a decade with I Must Be Dreaming, a third album presented as both a reinvention and a reaffirmation of the group’s strengths. The review argues that Brittany Howard brings the genre-fluid ambition of her solo work back to the band, making a convincing case that her long-standing collaborators remain central to her musical vision.

Reunited as a three-piece with bassist Zack Cockrell and guitarist Heath Fogg, the band range from pre-war-style songwriting on “Garden” to Afrofuturist experimentation on “Tea Time”. Highlights include the chamber-soul “Another Life”, the politically uneasy “American Dream”, and the stylistically shifting “I Feel Hope Coming”; the album also explores regret, hope, relationships and national unease.