Recognition for the musicians worth listening to and worth knowing about - updated monthly.
Rising from the lawless depths and carnage of The Queen’s Head in Brixton, London, five eccentric and determined young men began in 2014 an exciting journey into the world of post-punk music. Over the last seven years they have matured, their eyes wide and accustomed to the blinding madness that engulfs post-punk and alt-rock subculture. Endless touring, nervous breakdowns, countless hangovers and a questionable vivid pink room known as ‘the womb’ are just a few elements of South London five-piece SHAME, and it all serves to compliment their notorious reputation as one of the most exciting bands to grace the music industry in recent years.
Their first big break came at The Windmill in Brixton of December 2014, after a stellar headline performance they were given the opportunity to host a regular night at the venue, which Shame delightfully called ‘Chimney Shitters’. The night consisted of three handpicked bands performing prior to Shame who always headlined, a beneficial arrangement as they were able to self-promote and build a strong following in the post-punk and Brixton music scene alongside similar acts like Goat Girl, Shark Dentist and Sorry.
After landing a series of support slots following the success of ‘Chimney Shitters’, Shame took full advantage and toured relentlessly, supporting Slaves and Warpaint in 2017 amassing a total of 47 festivals and well over 130 shows played in total that year. Then in 2018 after signing with record label Dead Oceans, they released the eagerly anticipated debut album ‘Songs of Praise’, a symphony of punk anthems that received widespread praise and critical acclaim.
However the bands gruelling tour schedule and non-stop partying finally caught up with them when lead singer Charlie Steen suffered a series of panic attacks whilst performing in Germany, resulting in the band getting him the first flight home and cancelling the rest of the tour. Steen reflected on the incident in a recent interview with The Guardian, “Because we’re passionate about what we do, you want to push yourself, and there are moments where you think you’re superhuman. But you learn that you’re mortal”.
Shame returned to the UK in 2018 after four years of incessant touring, creating, bonding and partying, each band member finding themselves dealing with the unfamiliarity of normality in their own unique way. Guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith locked himself away in his bedroom, struggling to adjust he focused fundamentally on writing and recording fragments of music in self-inflicted isolation. Steen, in his typically eccentric fashion, kept the party going months after the tour itself had ended, finally accepting the stark reality that normality was there to stay, at least for the time being.
Holing himself away in the utility room of a block of flats he had converted into a makeshift bedroom, Steen sought solace in its vivid pink walls as he began to recover, reflect and write about the whirlwind life he had been living over the last few years. The scribblings and reflections during this time in “the womb” would form the concept and lyrical context to Shame’s latest album, Drunk Tank Pink, released last month.
Recorded by Foals producer James Ford in France last year, the album amplifies the bands growth not only through the development of their unique alt-rock sound of stabbing guitar riffs, manic rhythm’s and raucous singing, but also in their maturity and confidence in addressing themes of anxiety and detachment throughout.
Although the album tour has been postponed till later in the year due to COVID, Shame are incredibly excited and hopeful for the future, the post-pandemic touring and the madness that will ensue, Steen telling The Guardian “It’s going to be fucking wicked. I can’t wait.”.
Neither can we, but in the meantime Shame fans can enjoy the bands incredible latest album Drunk Tank Pink whilst dancing around the living room ironically singing THERE’S NEVER ANYONE IN THIS HOUSE.
For more information about Shame including tour dates, visit our homepage or the band's website. Also subscribe to Wake Up The Noise for more great content, including next month’s noise!
Image Copyright of: Dork, Sam Gregg, Sarah Louise Bennett