Shame
Songs Of Praise

In the land of Albion, it's time for the first next big thing of 2018 in the rock realm, and this time it's the Londoners Shame.

A very young quintet led by the charismatic Charlie Steen ("my nails are unkempt / my voice is not the best you've heard, and you can choose to hate my words / but I don't give a damn" he sings defiantly in the amusing single "One Rizla"), Shame arrives at their first album after a couple of festivals, a series of singles released (six in total, only one of which, "Visa Vulture"—an almost too thinly veiled attack on Theresa May—was not included in this new album), and some supporting dates for Slaves and Warpaint.

Dubbed "Songs Of Praise," this debut full-length fully convinces and justifies the high expectations placed on the London quintet. The fusion of a distinctly post-punk sound with the punk energy of leader Steen (who pours into the microphone anger, anguish, sarcasm, and impatience in a very convincing and sincere manner) works wonderfully. The tracks are there and they do their dirty work very well; three of the tracks published in the previous EPs ("Gold Hole," "The Lick," and "Tasteless") have been re-recorded to better blend with the overall sound of the work, a very smart move.

Already the beautiful opener "Dust On Trial" strikes and convinces, with a pleasant clattering of guitars and a Steen who shows brilliant vocal versatility, moving from a guttural Lanegan style to the tone he will mostly use throughout the rest of the album. The other extract "Concrete" is fun, a curious call and response between the singer and bassist John Finerty; the bass pulses wonderfully and the guitars follow suit, the same in the nice "Tasteless," which, however, sails in waters closer to britpop.

The engaging and liberating two minutes of the punk bombshell "Donk" ("Lampoon" follows suit), while "The Lick" perhaps abuses the spoken word a bit too much, yet captivates through Steen's fierce invective against those who decide what to listen to through reviews from NME-style magazines instead of forming an opinion using their own ears. Even when the discourse becomes less harsh and more melodic ("Friction," "Angie" which in the chorus recalls the now-classic Oasis), Shame fully convinces.

Nice debut for the London combo, waiting curiously for future moves.

Best track: Angie