With a powerful contralto range that extends from hissing steam to crunching gravel, Brittany Howard seems destined to sing the kind of timeless blues rock that scalds hearts and scours the spirit. Of course, she does exactly that with her Southern soul band Alabama Shakes, but Howard isn’t the type to constrain her gift to one lane. In the noisy, garage-rocking Thunderbitch, her voice comes clad in leather and spikes. With Nashville’s all-woman Bermuda Triangle trio, her singing deepens, becomes rootsy and seeks harmony. But when Howard goes solo—as on 2019’s Jaime—those pipes go elastic as she sings of love, life, failure, and faith over a genre-defying score.