Shades

"The title of Doyle Bramhall II's Shades intimates a fitting level of nuance comparable to that of his previous album, Rich Man (Concord, 2016), where he married the most profound spiritual themes of his original material to lush production and arrangement. Here, in contrast, he emphasizes his blues and R&B roots so that, as a direct reflection of the guitarist's swarthy visage, the continuity of the black and white cover graphics carries over into the music. The seamless nature of the sound is one of the album's most significant virtues, one that belies its recording in a variety of locations with varying engineers".

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"It took Doyle Bramhall II 15 years to deliver Rich Man, the sequel to 2001's Welcome, but only two to follow that 2016 record with Shades. Appropriately, Shades feels looser than its predecessor and more direct, too. Where Rich Man was dotted with epics, Bramhall keeps things generally concise on Shades, and he also firmly grounds the album in soul ... It results in a more cohesive album than its predecessor, but it's the lack of fussiness that makes Shades a better record: now that he's just knocking out songs and records, his music feels bracing and immediate".

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"Beneath the musical matte lies a brooding yarn about solitude and getting older. Gentle keys cradle DBII's weary manifesto about "someone lost, something gained" through age in "Break Apart to Mend." And his looming 50th is juxtaposed on "Live Forever" and a closing cover of Bob Dylan's "Going Going Gone," the former wrapped in triumphant zeal and the latter injected with impotent rage. With Shades, Doyle Bramhall II is at his most open and vulnerable".

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