Amaryllis
Amaryllis aims its choruses high and usually gets them there. Shinedown's fourth album gives Brent Smith a large, clear setting, with the guitars, strings and backing parts all helping the melodies reach outward. The record has a confident sense of what kind of response it wants.
Adrenaline starts with a harder, more immediate attack. The guitar riff gives the song a definite centre, and Smith keeps pace with a forceful performance. Bully is similarly direct, with a chorus designed to make its message impossible to miss. The music is effective, although the lyric's broad declarations leave less room for an individual voice within the sentiment.
Enemies and For My Sake make better use of the band's heavier instincts. Their movement gives the choruses something to release, rather than relying only on the size of the vocal. Zach Myers' guitar parts provide useful character inside arrangements that are otherwise built for clarity. Rob Cavallo's production keeps those elements firmly in place.
The softer material varies more in quality. Unity develops from piano into a much wider chorus, and Smith handles the rise with control. It is a persuasive performance, though the sentiment can feel larger than the detail supporting it. The title track has a more patient lift, allowing the melody to reveal itself without rushing immediately to the biggest possible moment.
I'm Not Alright is a welcome change of colour. Its lighter, less conventional movement helps break up the alternation between hard songs and large ballads. Through the Ghost also makes an effective closing contrast, using strings and a more reflective tone to leave the record somewhere quieter.
The weakest passages are those that seem to assume reassurance becomes more meaningful when every instrument joins in. Miracle pushes that approach further than the song can comfortably support. Still, Amaryllis contains enough strong hooks and vigorous playing to make its broad appeal understandable. The best songs give their optimism a clear musical shape; the less convincing ones depend too much on the insistence with which it is delivered.
