Stalwarts of the revived post-punk scene, south London’s shame have announced their second album, Drunk Tank Pink, more than 2 years since releasing their debut Songs of Praise to huge acclaim and recognition in 2018.
Out on January 15th 2021 on Dead Records, Drunk Tank Pink is named after the shade of pink used to calm inebriated or violent occupants of overnight police cells, and is incidentally the same colour coating the walls of ‘the womb’, frontman Charlie Steen’s hibernation room in his home in Peckham where much of the album was conceived. Having toured worldwide relentlessly since releasing Songs of Praise, writing and recording new material had been almost non-existent until Covid-19 and lockdown struck in early 2020, allowing time for much-needed rest and reflection for the band’s writers, Steen and guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith.
New single ‘Water in the Well’, released yesterday, bodes well for the forthcoming album, and seems markedly different to their previous releases, gentler (by shame’s standards) and more experimental. Oozing with post-punk influences including Talking heads, ESG and The Fall, Steen’s vocals could be mistaken for David Byrne’s, while the lyrics tackle coping with sudden fame, partying too hard, and subsequent identity crises and fever dreams. Still unmistakeably shame, the single is more subdued and mature, and it is evident that the band has had chance to reflect on how different life is now.
Recharged and reset after lockdown, shame will be back on the road with a string of with Covid-friendly UK shows in February 2012, beginning at Leeds’ very own Brudenell Social Club. Renowned for their raucous, and very sweaty, live performances, we can’t wait to see what shame have got to offer us – socially distanced, of course.
shame kick off their UK tour with two socially distanced shows at The Brudenell Social Club on 2nd February 2021.
Header image: shame. Credit: Sam Alexander-Gregg.