Almost three years until that day Shame release their debut album organ Song of praise they’re releasing tracking, Pink drunken tank. After years on the road, the prospect of no gigs ahead through forced isolation, periods of self-loathing, and lots of Shame thinking arrived with their new record.
Realize that self-medication isn’t necessarily the best way to put your demons to rest, and that the party is unlikely to be enjoyable when the man ahead of “the music stops” Charlie Steen has stepped back take a step and start solving the situation. In a cupboard that had previously housed a washing machine, Steen took it upon himself to “reflect and write”. (It was the decoration of the room that inspired the name of the album.)
The resulting 11-track album, which had four new songs, was definitely different from its 2018 predecessor. The main track was lifted off the album and the album’s opening number. Alphabet, still fits the band’s Post-Punk trend but the new material is more commercial and a bit less confrontational. Shame seems to have made a similar twist in the direction that Idles has on their latest album, Ultra Mono.
Shame’s next singles. Water in the well and Snow day are also more reserved and considered than some of their earlier documents. The arrangement seems to be handled more skillfully, the arrangement is less messy and there is more singing than shouting. This is a band that has built on the foundation they’ve established with renewed confidence and assured swagger.
Nigel Hitter has a vibrant bass line that compliments the accompaniment and the “inverted rhythm” that flies around and is reminiscent of some of the New Wave bands of the early 80s. Born in Luton take irregular and somewhat disjointed rhythms and join them together to form a multi-part song that is wonderfully combined into a frenetic and frenetic track while March Day pops up with the energy of an excitable young player. The tympanic percussion is more Indie-Pop than Post-Punk, but it delivers the song masterfully.
Humans, for a minute is a slower track with a deep bass line. The voice treatment is more formal and softer than you’ve heard of Shame, but it works. The layered harmonies at the end aren’t what you’d expect, however it underscores the band’s growing maturity, where it’s considered the shortest song on the album, Great dog, bringing you back firmly to the more energetic performance Shame has become synonymous with.
The three ending songs of Shame’s second album, 6/1, Severity level and finally family size Station wagon all showcase a band that is growing into themselves. 6/1 is a constant, forward-flowing stream of emotions, Severity level an unrepentant frenzy of riot noise and Station wagon a track spanning nearly 7m calms things down with fanciful, dark bass and almost fun percussion.
Above Pink drunken tank Shame has rekindled their mixed emotions in the recent past, using the unhealthy negativity they’ve experienced and putting together an outstanding new album that’s both surprising and satisfying.
