Shiner has always been about evolution, dodging genre labels and pushing musical boundaries since their inception in the early '90s. Known for their punishing yet&nbsp; melodic approach to rock, the band’s sound has morphed from the raw, untamed&nbsp; energy of their early years to something more refined, layered, and introspective&nbsp; on their latest release, BELIEVEYOUME.&nbsp;Schadenfreude, the band's last record, released just as the world was shutting&nbsp; down in early 2020. "Great timing on our part," says Josh Newton (guitar).&nbsp; "Schadenfreude was dark and maybe a little claustrophobic, which makes sense,&nbsp; in retrospect. This new record, BELIEVEYOUME, feels more open and more&nbsp; immediate. We came in with fewer pre-written ideas and just reacted to each other in real time. Less brooding, more instinct. Still heavy, still weird—just breathing a&nbsp; little more."&nbsp;Recorded over a series of multi-day sessions at bass player / engineer Paul&nbsp; Malinowski’s Kansas City studio (Massive Sound), BELIEVEYOUME took shape&nbsp; quickly and with purpose. "Initially, it was a process of sifting through phone recordings, picking what hit us, and then going straight into the studio to flesh it&nbsp; out,” says Allen Epley (vocals / guitar). “The results felt immediate, with no room&nbsp; for overthinking.” While most of the basic recording was all done live, additional instrumentation was tracked by Josh Newton (guitars / keyboards) at Massive&nbsp; Sound and at his home in LA, and Epley's vocals were tracked at his home studio&nbsp; in Chicago.&nbsp;&nbsp;Once the songs were locked, occasional touring member and mixer&nbsp; Mario Quintero (Spotlights) and Malinowski fine-tuned the mixes before handing&nbsp; the record off to Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering in Portland. In the end, the band's&nbsp; mix of live, spontaneous energy and post-production prowess shaped the final&nbsp; sound, a blend of the band’s signature heaviness with a newfound openness.&nbsp;Lyrically, BELIEVEYOUME wanders into much more introspective territory,&nbsp; touching on themes of aging, relationships, and escapism. “We really dug into the&nbsp; personal stuff this time,” Epley shares, explaining certain songs explore the dark&nbsp; humor of relationships gone wrong, while other songs center on manipulation,&nbsp; toxic behavior, and our collective unwillingness to face what is coming. As a&nbsp; whole, the record is a reflection on the struggles and contradictions in life, all&nbsp; wrapped up in Shiner’s signature blend of heavy riffs and haunting melodies. The&nbsp; title BELIEVEYOUME comes from a phrase in “Asleep in the Trunk,” one of the&nbsp; record’s standout tracks. “It’s one of those phrases that’s tossed around so much&nbsp; it’s lost its meaning,” Epley explains. “But when you step back and think about it, it&nbsp; can mean so many things in the context of a relationship. It could be about&nbsp; believing in yourself, in the other person, or in the relationship as a whole, or it&nbsp;could be about the loss of belief.” That ambiguity is central to the album’s themes,&nbsp; relationships that ebb and flow, and the complexity of human connection.&nbsp;With BELIEVEYOUME, Shiner has created a record that feels both immediate and&nbsp; timeless. It’s the band at their most honest, raw, and self&nbsp;aware. While Shiner's sonic influences continue to evolve, they remain rooted in&nbsp; the shared experiences that have always bonded them as musicians. “Honestly,&nbsp; the biggest influence is just the band itself,” says Malinowski. “Our sound has&nbsp; grown and changed so much over the years, and that evolution led us to this&nbsp; record.” As for their plans to bring it all to the stage, the band is already looking&nbsp; ahead to an extensive tour in 2025, including dates across the U.S., Europe, and&nbsp; beyond. “The plan is to tour the universe and beyond,” Epley jokes, “but in all&nbsp; seriousness, we’ll be coming to most places soon.”&nbsp;From their early days of shaking the walls of basement shows to their latest sonic&nbsp; adventure, Shiner has never stopped pushing forward. And as always, they’re still&nbsp; making music for themselves...and for anyone who’s ready to listen.