At one time it felt as if Shinedown exploded on to your screen and into your headphones overnight, sky rocketing from rising stars to one of the most popular front-runners of contemporary rock since their formation in 2001. Now, with a catalogue of hook-laden songs filled with choruses built for arenas, there is little surprise as to why the masses continue to gravitate toward the Jacksonville, Florida rockers, and it is hard to imagine the scene without them.

Acting as the direct successor to the hugely successful ‘Threat to Survival’, ‘Attention Attention’ takes its place as the sixth studio album from the band, cited as their most raw and personal offering to date. Yet if it wears its heart on its sleeve in places, there is little evidence to support the claim to rawness, especially when you consider their immensely powerful back catalogue.

If leading single “Devil” sets the stage for all that is to come, it delivers a self consciously grand, dramatic, and theatrical offering, not exactly in the cherished styling of Shinedown. In fact, much of the bands beloved, distinctive sound feels lost in a vast well of production on ‘Attention Attention’ .  Which comes as ironic given that the task of retaining a producer was kept in-house, with the role being filled by bassist Eric Bass.

The most blatant example of this can be found in “Get Up”. While it may provide an admirable, encouraging lyric that caters to the struggles of depression, ultimately it sounds a great deal closer to an edgy Take That dealing in innocuous pop rock than it does to Shinedown. As does its immediate follow up, the rather painfully melancholy “special,” which curiously includes a rather limp, golf clap during its final moments. Which is about as much of an applause as it warrants.

Yet if ‘Attention Attention’ doesn’t always hit the mark, it certainly hits the target on more than a few occasions. “Monsters” acknowledges the very real demons dwelling within, with singer Brent Smith delivering a strong vocal performance against a backdrop of raw, post-grunge guitars provided by Zach Myers. Another highlight can be found in “Black Soul” which builds on a simple, industrial synth hook and blossoms into a booming track.Yet the level of polishing is uncanny, and not always effective. For even when it is loud and dirty, striving to be raw, it still feels squeaky clean, a point reflected in the sonic buffet that is “Pyro”.

Shinedown can be brave and bold adventurers, demonstrating little fear as they extend their reach and expand their scope. Something their catalogue attests to, a testament to their well and truly reaping the fruits of immense labours. But those fruits had roots, roots that, unfortunately, feel somewhat lost in their more recent work, and never more so than in ‘Attention Attention’

Yet ‘Attention Attention’ is still a hopeful, buoyant, and optimistic record that finds the white in the black, the light in the dark, the positive in the negative. It shows that Shinedown have not lost their charm, even if they may have parted ways with a great deal of their edge and grit for a more accessible, poppy sound.