The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Demanding ‘Attention Attention’
Hard-rocking Shinedown — one of the big acts at sold-out ‘Roverfest X’ — looks to expand creatively on latest album
A decade has passed since Shinedown released its careerdefining album, “The Sound of Madness.”
The platinum-selling effort featured six No. 1 singles — “Devour,” “Sound of Madness,” “The Crow and the Butterfly,” “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom,” “If You Only Knew” and “Second Chance” — and squarely cemented the Florida act as rockradio royalty.
Part of Shinedown’s success since the turn of the century has been the band’s ability to stay creatively sharp.
For example, sensing its music had become too polished and layered, the group’s 2015 effort, “Threat to Survival”, was a back-tothe-basics affair.
So when it came time to write the outfit’s followup effort, Brent Smith (vocals), Zach Myers (guitar), Eric Bass (bass, production) and Barry Kerch (drums) decided to step out of the their comfort zone with an entirely different approach that begot the unique “Attention Attention,” which was released this spring.
“The dynamic of this record is quite broad because, first and foremost, it’s the first record we did in-house,” said Smith, calling from London, Ontario. “Traditionally, with the other records, we’re known for writing a lot of songs — between 60 and 100 — ahead of time before we enter the studio and pick a dozen to record and present to the world.”
This time out, Shinedown eschewed that familiar process. Instead, the band recorded a story album in the studio.
“This is a lot different because the entire record is a story from the beginning, middle to the finale,” Smith said. “It’s really a record about not being afraid to fail. We don’t believe that people are going to be defined by their failures.
“We think they’ll be defined by the fact you refused to give up in any situation. So with that in mind, it was probably the most personal record (we) have done thus far.”
The “Attention, Attention” narrative revolves around an individual alone in a room. Smith said it was written to remind society the human spirit transcends gender, age, color and religion and is not defined by social media. The message is to find happiness inside.
“It’s a psychological journey, a physical and mental rollercoaster, and definitely a record that is necessary right now,” Smith said.
Playing a key role in “Attention, Attention” is Bass, who produced and mixed the record. However, it turned out the bass player inspired a key element of album, which manifests itself in the piano-heavy song “Get Up.”
The anthem, which is the album’s next single, unabashedly delves into Bass’ struggle with mental health and depression. It’s about having the same conversation that Cleveland Cavaliers forward-center Kevin Love discussed earlier this year regarding mental health and panic attacks.
“‘Get Up’ in the story is about a shift in this person, where they get their confidence back, they’re able to present themselves to themselves and understand that it’s not always going to be perfect,” Smith said. “It’s not always going to be sunny outside because there are moments sometimes when Eric wakes up — and it could be out of the blue and for whatever reason — and he’s just sad.
“The fact of the matter is that the world can be a very tricky place to maneuver. ‘Get Up’ is a celebration of understanding that and acknowledging that’s perfectly fine.”