SHAED weren’t immune to spinning out. The trio of Chelsea Lee and twin brothers Max and Spencer Ernst had been living in a whirlwind for a long time – a long, circuitous, sometimes stop-start arc that included meeting as teenagers playing around D.C., living and writing at home together, and a surprise breakout hit in 2018’s “Trampoline.” The runaway ascension of “Trampoline” led the band through an array of dream scenario milestones – soundtracking a MacBook Air commercial, two billion streams, and accolades from pop culture monoliths like iHeart and Billboard. But SHAED also experienced the pitfalls of following that unexpected success. Seeking a reset, the trio emerged from tumultuous times equally defined by existential crises and beautiful life changes to craft a sophomore album that was as true a statement of their identity as anything they had made thus far. There was only one name for it: Spinning Out.

Spinning Out is the sound of SHAED’s core ethos, their connection as family and musicians. Inspired by new love and parenthood, the album cohered as a collection of snapshots and vignettes, reflecting on belonging and connection from all different angles. While aided by collaborators like POWERS’ Mike Del Rio, the bulk of Spinning Out was built on SHAED, as always, writing and recording at home together, chasing a more organic and lived-in atmosphere. Across moving ballads and graceful bops alike – including the emotionally bare title track, the soaring “Rocket In The Sky,” and the hazy earworm of lead single “Everybody Knows I’m High” (debuted in SHAED’s February Kimmel performance) – the band catalogs all the trials, euphoria, confusion, and hope that ran through a messy few years. Once upon a time Spinning Out might’ve been born from fragmentation, but it became the story of SHAED doing what they’ve always done best – getting in a room and chasing the answer together.