Johnny Loftus of Allmusic said, "There's no frontman hooting here, no lead guitar prima donna drama. Instead, Attention Dimension is the drummer's chance to be in the bright white klieg light. Give him a chance, will ya?"
Irons started creating his first pieces of drum music in 1994, but it was not until fall 1999, about a year after he left Pearl Jam, that he seriously began recording himself for a possible solo album, taking time out to record a new Eleven album, which the band released in 2003. Attention Dimension includes collaborations from friends and former bandmates like Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider, Flea, Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Les Claypool. Vedder contributed vocals to a cover of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".