14 Shades of Grey
So Far Away is a useful surprise on 14 Shades of Grey. Aaron Lewis sounds willing to recognise some progress, and the melody gives that feeling a clear, accessible shape. Staind's music can remain heavy without treating despair as its only convincing subject.
The album does not abandon its forceful guitar sound. Price to Play opens with a substantial riff and a vocal performance that makes the band's familiar intensity immediately apparent. How About You keeps a firmer edge as well, giving the record some physical movement before the more reflective material takes over.
Lewis is placed close to the centre throughout. His full lower register and the rise into a more emphatic chorus can make a straightforward melody feel personal. On So Far Away, the arrangement supports that quality without competing with it. The song is direct enough that a large production does not have to supply all of its emotional weight.
Zoe Jane is more specific in its subject, addressing Lewis' daughter with a tenderness that changes the atmosphere. Layne, his tribute to Layne Staley, gives another clear point of focus to a record that otherwise often deals in broad accounts of strain and self-examination. These songs benefit from having a definite person or relationship at their centre.
The problem is that the surrounding music rarely offers the same degree of distinction. Mike Mushok's guitar provides texture and force, but many passages leave the instruments supporting a vocal mood rather than developing an idea of their own. The consistent tempos and familiar rises can make fourteen songs feel less varied than the range of personal subjects suggests.
There are affecting moments here, and the quieter emotional direction is worthwhile. The album simply depends too heavily on the listener connecting with Lewis' delivery to make every track count. 14 Shades of Grey is most convincing when a clear melody and a specific thought meet, as on So Far Away and Zoe Jane. Those songs give the music a purpose that several of the less defined passages struggle to match.
