Band: SHAME Who: Razor-sharp-verbal punks, led by hot-blooded
blusterer Charlie Steen, from South-London, who nailed
it big time with their fury filled debut Songs Of Praise.
At the beginning of this year SHAME released their sophomore album Drunk Tank Pink (good one, but not as good as their blistering debut.
But I admit that that firstborn was hard to match).
Last month they came back for a jangly stand-alone single
titled This Side Of The Sun. And here’s another fresh one.
BALDER’S GATE (named after the video game series) is a Yuletide
song according to outspoken front-mouth Charlie Steen “It’s another
Christmas classic. It’s about a period of time in which I’d regularly be trekking
up to the streets of Edinburgh to see an ex-partner. These are some of the
thoughts I’d have when I’d be leaving Waverley station, en route back to
London in the winter nights.”
Not really a Xmassy tune, although this shady meditation, almost acoustic, is
quite moody, yearning, and melancholic. Must be the Xmassy feel the Shame way.
At the start of this year, the South London gunslingers
released their second top album called Drink Tank Pink.
On this brand new single it’s guitars all over the place again.
Not their best effort, but a hefty hammer nonetheless.
“The whole song came together on the day we recorded it at the studio.
It’s also the first live recording we’ve ever done, we didn’t want it to sound
overworked. It’s a pure banger, listen with a piña colada in your left hand.”
The two-man drill machine out of Kalamazoo, MI nails it again.
This rumbling rollercoaster bulldozes its way in slow motion,
forth and back, while producing an ominous vocal brouhaha
that causes a creepy nightmare experience. Whatever the song’s
protagonist’s ilk is, it doesn’t sound like you want to be friends
This striking stroke is part of the soundtrack for Mark, Mary & Some Other People, a new indie rom-com
about a young married couple trying out an open relationship.
Billie Joe Armstrong and his buddies do what they did throughout
their whole career, rockin’ and rollin’ without thinking too much.
TUTV said: Manimal and Samara are a poetallica sensation. A new laser light at the end of
a mythical tunnel where anything can happen. Imagine Sylvia Plath fronting a theatrical and mind-challenging psychedelic noise band. Their debut album is a multi-faceted opus in sound and vision. Compelling poetry exploring life, death, birth, past, present, and future embedded
in a titanic thunder and lighting symphony going from perplexing metal to chill-out ambient. The final result is at times jaw-dropping, at times weirdly confusing, at times dumbfounding
but always flabbergasting and fascinating. When surreality becomes reality you know something is about to happen.
TUTV wrote: Gusto, high-spiritedness and anxiety are the keywords here.
This warm-blooded record is a heart-rending reflection of the group’s state of
2021 mind. A galvanizing collection of cohesive poignant emo songs influenced by
the disturbing way our troubled world is handling human issues, once-in-a-lifetime
dramas, and the personal turmoil of frontwoman Chavez. Her soul-stirring and
powerful (Aretha Franklin / young Tina Turner) voice, weeping guitars, and the
electrical intensity are at times overwhelming and heartbreaking. Impressive!
Released: 12 March 2021 – second LP TUTV wrote: “The essential message of this new powerhouse album is loud and clear:
noise-challenging turbo Pink Room is here to stay! Their tsunami energy is beyond any
decibel regulation. Again, loudmouth Bart Cocquyt leads the rip-roaring troops. As I said
before his vocal range is out-of-this-world. He easily could front a death metal band (Stay Black/Stay White) or a Nirvana reunion (Losing/Skin) or kick Ozzy Osbourne‘s ass (Hail Satan). Expect ear-shattering jackhammers, over-the-top frenzy, and an overall sonic lockdown paranoia.”
TUTV wrote: “The masters of drone rock are back, and they’re getting better over the years. Gigantic fuzz and buzz jackhammers but also some softer – yes, since they became fathers they let their heart & soul speak/play more – stuff. This stunning work will end up on many end-of-the-year lists.”
tutv wrote: “i’m damn sure this incredible punch-powered-punk-passion turbo was here before, about 40 years ago, inspiring bored kids like black flag , shellac, melvins, jello biafra, and other anarchist snotnoses, to leave home, steal guitars and drums in order to have some wild fun while scaring bad people with their deafening racket that’ll teach those old-fashioned adults watching fox.news all day long. so here they are back again, inspiring young social media junkies to steal guitars and drums instead of watching their phones all day long. home is where it all starts when you have no money to rent a smelly rehearsal room to rock your heads off. so you move into your own smelly basement and scream your poor lungs to pieces. listen up all you lost teenagers out there, play i became birds over and over again ’cause these hungry florida misfits can and will save your lives.”
Key track: sewn together from the membrane of the great sea cucumber
TUTV wrote: “A mix of the romantic crooner and the haunting crooner. Growing with every spin. Compelling orchestrations, classical arrangements, with Ellis showing his musical skills once more. Can’t remember when Cave made an average album. Did he, actually? Okay, Carnage once again on my headphones.”
TUTV wrote: “The rap and roll venom of Rage Against The Machine, the fuck-you-hypocrites grimness of Black Flag, the punky saxophone of X-Ray-Spex, the sharp poetic spit and sneer anarchy of Mark. E. Smith, the challenging spirit of an open-minded-plainspoken-asskicking-anti-establishement-and-other-scumbags force of doom and gloom. Sounds exactly like 2020/2021, like the end of the world as we know it, but also like an album that’s going
to be on my earphones for a long time.”
Band: SHAME Who: Razor-sharp-verbal punks, led by hot-blooded
blusterer Charlie Steen, from South-London, who nailed
it big time with their fury filled debut Songs Of Praise.
Album: DRUNK TANK PINK – second LP Released: 15 January 2021
NME‘s verdict: “Angst and isolation from one of the country’s best bands…
An intense record that searches for answers in chaos and uncertainty. Whether
or not they found what they were looking for, ‘Drunk Tank Pink’ confirms Shame’s
status as one of the most exciting bands at the forefront of British music. Long
may they reign there.” Full review here. Score 5/5.
Turn Up The Volume says: Debut LP Songs Of Praise was one of best albums
of 2018. Drunk Tank Pink is/will be one of the best albums of 2021. The band’s
fervid fury does your head in the way you like it. You’ll be out of breath after
just one spin. Young wolves with a heavily beating heart and a loud-mouthed
soul, kicking ass with inexhaustible vim and vigor. Damn right.
Singles/clips: Snow Day / Water in the Well / Alphabet / Nigel Hitter
Razor-sharp-cutting London punks SHAME, led by hot-blooded blusterer Charlie Steen,
will make our ears tremble next week with their second full-length Drunk Tank Pink.
But before the fun starts they give us another taster, actually the fourth.
NIGEL HITTER is a riff-hitting flare-up with funky Gang Of Four echoes.
“After we finished touring I was left with a lot of silence as I stumbled around trying to figure
out the daily routine. On top of that, I was confronting my subconscious at night through a series of intense dreams which left me in a daze during the day. ‘Nigel Hitter’ feels like a cathartic expression of that period.” explains Steen.
Band: SHAME Who: Razor-sharp-verbal punks, led by hot-blooded
blusterer Charlie Steen from South-London, who nailed
it big time with their fury filled debut Songs Of Praise.
Five new firecrackers to bang-up your favorite 48 hours…
‘Shortcummings’ by SLEAFORD MODS (UK)
Another sickly sticky rant from their upcoming album Spare Ribs. This time the rapping punks go after Dominic Cummings, the former right-hand of British prime-minister Boris Johnson and manic Brexit fan. Hit hit hit…
‘Carol Of The Witch’ by VAZUM (Detroit, US)
This pitch-dark, synth-driven banger could easily have been a track on Marilyn
Manson‘s newest album We Are Chaos. Ominous guitar-layers, ongoing drum
thumps and an overall sinister resonance. From the duo’s new EP Vazumnacht.
.
‘Snow Day‘ by SHAME (UK)
A haunting, rowdy, and ongoing roller coaster jam “about love that is lost and the comfort and displeasure that comes after you close your eyes, fall into sleep, and are forced to confront yourself.” Notable new piece from forthcoming, 2nd LP Drunk Tank Pink, out 15th January.
‘The Fever’ by THRILLSVILLE (LA, CA, US)
An electro Goth pop tune beating like a heart in trouble and spreading feverishly in
your mind from the kick-off. It’s the nerve-racking opener from the brand new, chilling
5-track EP Say Goodbye To The Light.
I got the fever / I got a poisoned mind / Another day in paradise / Yea right
‘Alpha-Omega’ by MIND CELL (San Diego, US)
This metallic smack is exactly what you need to crush your lockdown demons. Burning guitars, merciless beats, bloodcurdling vehemence, and sky-scraping outcries cause a hair-raising experience that triggers the head-banging devil in you the way you like it! Score!
I love the smell of rock ‘n’ roll in the weekend. Here come
five new firecrackers to boost your favorite 48 hours.
‘Water In The Well’ by SHAME (South-London)
One of the most exciting and ambitious young bands around share a new single from
their 2nd, upcoming album. ‘Water In The Well’ is a funky scream your heart out corker…
‘Quaaludes n Mash’ by SPUDGE (Leicester, UK)
Quaaludes with the effect of acid is what this kooky trio comes up with. So good,
so tasty. Rollin’ jingle-jangle guitars, a relentlessly frantic beat, and some rough spitting and sneering. Sonic youth turbulence, indeed. From their debut EP Pathetic Phallus.
Trust me, you won’t fall asleep.
. ‘The Hustle’ by DOIS PADRES (Bedforshire, UK)
This insane garage blues blast triggers your insatiable appetite for mindless psycho
boogie action. This raw-to-the-bone motherrocker sounds like it has been recorded in a basement where bats are fooling around. Fierce drum madness, screwy surf guitars and distorted vocals do your brain in. AND YOU’LL LIKE IT!
‘Let’s Party Tonight’ by SCARECROWZ (Ottawa, Canada)
To hell with our lockdown blues, time to party ourselves out of our heads. This robust, headbanging haymaker is what we need to activate all of our limbs and go bonkers from the get-go. For those about to rock Scarecrowz salutes you. Wham bloody hammer bam!
‘Distance’ by MAMMOTH WVH / WOLFGABG VAN HALEN (California)
The debut single of Wolfgang Van Halen aka Mammoth WVH is a heart-touching tribute to his father, who died recently. It’s a classic rock standout with an epic resonance, aroused vocals, and an overall affecting impact. R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen.
Steamy London rockers SHAME who scored one of the best
albums of 2018 with their kick-ass debut LP Songs Of Praise
are alive and kicking again.
Last month they dropped a new exploding stroke calledAlphabet.
And here’s another one. BiL is a roller coaster. Up and down, fast and
slow, vigorous and full-blooded with a lead role for mad-for-it Gang Of
Four like guitars. Bingo!
We get BiL via a live video shot at the Electric Brixton in London.
