The word ‘whirlwind’ would be an appropriate one to describe the past six years in the lives of D.C. alt-pop band SHAED. The unexpected worldwide success of their 2018 hit, “Trampoline,” catapulted them onto festival stages, international tours, and national television appearances, including Good Morning America and practically every late night show. 

The release of their luminous 2021 album, High Dive, was soon followed by the arrival of a more personal production: Lead singer Chelsea Lee’s and husband-bandmate-
multi-instrumentalist Spencer Ernst’s first child, June, was born in January of 2022. Five months later, the new parents, along with Spencer’s twin brother, Max Ernst, were opening for Coldplay at FedEx Field.

All of these major life changes are brought to the forefront in their latest album, Spinning Out (released June 7 via BMG). It’s a contemplative outing from a band reflecting on everything that’s happened to them in the past six years, both good and bad. Inevitably, these changes would also alter how they approached songwriting for the album.

“The inspiration for the album definitely changed,” Spencer tells City Paper. “Having a child … you feel this new love that you didn’t know existed. June, for the first year and some change, was around 24/7. She would be sitting in the room with us while we’re writing music.”

“Having her around, I think the themes got a little bit more serious,” says Max. “The more that we were stripping away, the more the songs felt more true and the themes were a little more real. In the last record, I think we were more focused on creating these bigger pop productions and for this record, it was more about trying to capture more of the three-part harmony … letting Chelsea’s voice and the lyrical content really dictate the songs,” says Max. 

The band went for bigger themes but a more intimate, personal feel.

More personal might be an understatement. The title track contains brutally honest lyrics including “I’m so down on myself/ I’m too proud to ask for help.” While one might assume this is a response to the pressure of being new parents, the song has a much broader theme.

“[It’s] more about having everything that you think everyone wants,” says Lee. “Having the car. Having the lifestyle. Having the house and still struggling with anxiety, depression and still struggling to be completely happy.”

“Spinning Out” was one of the first songs SHAED wrote for the record and, Max notes, good things were going on in their personal lives, “like feeling very settled for the first time after COVID … and having a really solid home life. But at the same time, in our careers, a lot was happening.” 

Max calls it a transitional period, where the band changed managers and record label, and though they were starting to work with a new team, nothing was solidified.

“We were really struggling to figure out where we were gonna go next with our career. On the one side, a lot of beautiful things were happening. But on the other side, we were really spinning out.”

Refusing to let the upheaval of their business lives derail everything they had worked for, the trio didn’t let outside influences dictate the direction of Spinning Out.

“We really were focusing on trying to write the most true album we could to what was going on in our lives and not think about anything else but just how the songs made us feel,” says Max. “People are only going to resonate with something if you truly resonate with it yourself.” 

SHAED’s sold-out June 15 appearance at the Atlantis was a celebration not only of what the band have accomplished so far but what’s in store for them in the future. That first show sold out so quickly that a second night was added for June 22. With such enthusiastic acknowledgment from their hometown audience, the band are excited to share the new material.

“With this album, we just looked at each other and were like, ‘Let’s make the album that we want, not the album that we perceive everyone else wants,” says Lee. “Because, at the end of the day, if we love the album it comes across to everyone else.”

SHAED play at 7:30 p.m. on June 22 at the Atlantis. theatlantis.com. $30.