Shame is the debut studio album by the American rock band Brad. It was released on April 27, 1993, through Epic Records.
Brad formed officially in 1992, although the band members had been playing together for a long time before that. The band originally wanted to go by the name Shame, but the name was already taken by a band featuring musician Brad Wilson. Instead, the band took the name Brad and decided to name their debut album Shame.
The album was recorded in October 1992 in roughly 20 days at Avast Recording Co. in Seattle, Washington. Many tracks are taken from in-studio jam sessions. The band members produced the album themselves. The album was mixed by Brendan O'Brien. The album's cover art was provided by Seattle's Crocodile Cafe.
Shame, featuring a raw sound and an eclectic mix of styles, was released to mixed reviews and moderate sales. The track "20th Century" was a minor hit in the UK. The album charted at number 14 on Billboards Top Heatseekers chart. While sometimes categorised as âÂÂgrungeâÂÂ, the band sit apart in some ways: âÂÂDespite all of BradâÂÂs connections to âÂÂ90s grunge, neither Shame nor Interiors sound much like the defining music of that scene, instead featuring soft, nocturnal rock, giddy rhythms and glossy funk jams. More importantly, Shawn SmithâÂÂs presence defines Brad even more than GossardâÂÂs musical contributions or inherent fame. Smith is an unusual vocalist even without the nebulous grunge influences of BradâÂÂs apparent circle of friends; adjacent to era contemporaries like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Gossard and Jeff AmentâÂÂs Green River or Regan and Andrew WoodâÂÂs Malfunkshun, SmithâÂÂs honeyed falsetto starts to sound like the song of another species altogether.â SpectrumcultureâÂÂ
Music videos were made for the songs "Buttercup" and "20th Century".