Brad and its soft-spoken and extremely talented vocalist Shawn Smith are one of the most overlooked and underrated bands that came out of Seattle during the ’90s. At first best known as a side project for Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, after the release of its first album “Shame” the band became renown for Smith’s beautiful, honey-dipped pipes and not for featuring a member of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.
That says a lot about Smith’s talent and Brad’s latest record “In The Moment You’re Born,” makes the most of the band’s best asset, Smith’s voice. Yes, there the occassional catchy guitar riffs scattered throughout the record’s 10 tracks, and the musicianship throughout the album is solid, but Smith’s powerful voice is the main attraction.
There isn’t as much balladry or funky grooving like you can find previous Brad albums, but what it lacks in those areas it makes up for in polish and its showcasing of Smith’s vocal versatility. Aside from Brad, Smith was a member of multiple other groups, working with heavier rock bands, electronic groups and recording his own solo material. The songs on “In The Moment You’re Born” were completed after Smith’s unexpected death in 2019 and the surviving band members — Gossard, drummer Regan Hagar and bassist Keith Lowe — seemed to write music that played to Smith’s range as a vocalist. It’s a fitting tribute to one of the greatest voices to come out of the Emerald City.
“Without Guns” hits hard and grooves like a Pigeonhed jam, Smith’s electronic side project with Steve Fisk. While “Hey Now What’s The Problem?” and the album’s title track are on the heavier side. The latter features crunchy guitars, fuzzed-up distortion and a growling riff that would have fit perfectly on a record by Satchel, Smith’s other band with Brad bandmate Regan Hagar.
Hagar was also a member of Malfunkshun, an often forgetten Seattle band that’s notable because it featured another powerhouse Seattle singer, the late Andrew Wood. Wood was one of Smith’s musical influences and his presence is felt on this album in the form of the Malfunkshun cover “Stars In You,” a song included on the infamous “Deep Six” compilation that helped launch the Seattle rock scene. Of course this isn’t the first time Smith has covered Wood. He famously fronted reunions of Mother Love Bone not once, but twice, and his delivery of “Stars In You” did Andy Wood proud.
The ripping Malfunkshin cover is followed by “Meadow in Autumn,” a tender ballad that ends with a delightfully surpsising punch of peppy horns and Smith soulfully repeating a playful refrain of “ooh weee sha-sha yeah yeah.” And as anyone who has heard Smith’s cover of “Purple Rain” knows, Smith could handle the delicacy of a ballad as well as he could the heaviness of full-throttle rock songs, which makes the gentle piano ballad “Simple Subratction” the perfect way to close out Brad’s swan song.
If you enjoyed Brad’s 90s albums you will find a lot to like on “In The Moment You’re Born.” And if you’re unfamilar with the band it is a perfect entry point, holding its own against the best of the group’s earlier material. The only disappointment here is the likelihood that it’s the last Brad album.
If that’s true and there aren’t any hidden gems stashed away for a b-sides or retrospective compilation, the band is leaving on a beautifully soulful high note that rivals the quality of everything else in Smith’s stellar discography. “In The Moment You’re Born” is both a reminder of the unique beauty of Smith’s voice and a perfect sendoff for one of the most overlooked bands from Seattle’s 90s rock explosion.
