“We wanted to be more in your face!”
Shame exploded out of the same south London gig circuit that brought you black midi and Black Country, New Road. They share those bands’ love of post-punk and indie aesthetics, but where black midi offer sprawling odd-time epics, Shame specialise in three-minute gut-punches. That ear for a hook made their 2018 debut Songs Of Praise an unexpected Top 40 success. The follow-up, Drunk Tank Pink, was released in January, landing at #8 on the UK album chart.
What’s unusual about Shame is that they have three guitarists - the correct number, in our opinion. Originally, Eddie Green played rhythm and Sean Coyle-Smith played lead, but over time these roles have become blurred, with Josh Finerty, nominally the band’s bassist, also contributing guitar parts. Despite this, Drunk Tank Pink is a tight album with plenty of space.
“With the first record, we hashed it all out playing in a
