South London punk upstarts Shame can lay claim to one of the best debut albums of the last few years. Songs Of Praise, released in 2018 to almost universal critical acclaim, was a storming, dizzying, and infectious cocktail – a genuinely exciting, sit-up-and-take notice offering from a band brimming with confidence, even if they were still trying to figure things out behind the scenes.

New album Drunk Tank Pink encapsulates some of that journey of self-discovery, undertaken at a time of global claustrophobia and paranoia. The result is a razor-sharp, sometimes unsettling, but always intense collection of tracks that barely draws breath from it’s opening notes to its cacophonous finale.

“Now what you see is what you get” barks frontman Charlie Steen over those opening notes of Alphabet, an instant band classic of confrontation, skidding guitars and pounding drums. Nigel Hitter moves through the gears in a captivating style, while Water In The Well almost glides along on its big riff and freewheeling vocals.

Snow Day’s flickering riff and spoken word delivery builds into a bellowing monster, Great Dog packs a staggering amount of punches into its sub-two-minute run time, while closing number Station Wagon is a brooding, beguiling presence, it’s tight and atmospheric opening spiraling inwards into a blistering implosion of noise.

Despite all the flourishes, all the snarling and all the swagger, the real strength of Drunk Tank Pink lies in its feeling of cohesion. In that sense, the followup to Songs Of Praise is a marked evolution from its predecessor. It’s not that this record is more sonically accomplished than their debut, it’s more that, here, Shame seem to finally be putting all the pieces into place, comfortable with their creativity and brimming with ideas. And above all, it’s an album that confirms their status as one of the most uncompromising and exciting bands around.

Drunk Tank Pink tracklist:

1. Alphabet

2. Nigel Hitter

3. Born In Luton

4. March Day

5. Water In The Well

6. Snow Day

7. Human, For A Minute

8. Great Dog

9. 6/1

10. Harsh Degrees

11. Station Wagon

Watch the official video for Nigel Hitter here.

Find out more about Shame on their official website.

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.