by Conor Lochrie (@conornoconnor)
Shame’s new album is a tale of two contradictions: it’s named for an allegedly soothing shade of paint color but the music on the album is anything but nullifying; it’s another sophomore album focused on the exhaustion and disillusionment of extensive post-debut touring that manages to avoid the cliched pitfalls of that album type (see also Fontaines D.C.’s excellent A Hero’s Death from last year).
Drunk Tank Pink is the follow-up to 2018’s heralded Songs of Praise and it’s a superior and more mature record. An overwhelming amount of worldwide shows had pushed Shame too much, too soon, leaving them feeling despairing and disconnected. The band took themselves away to record in France with producer James Ford and have luckily avoided second album syndrome. Where Songs of Praise sometimes screamed I-want-you-to-know-we’re-punk a little too loud - they were remarkably young, admittedly - Drunk Tank Pink is more considered.
Ford certainly deserves plaudits for his role in the success of the album. Producer of the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Foals, and Klaxons, it’s why Drunk Tank Pink remains a post-punk piece but infused with a livelier and groovier rhythm. ‘Nigel Hitter’ is a loose and livewire grooving delight (someone’s clearly been listening to Gang of Four and Talking Heads). ‘Born in Luton’ immediately follows in a similarly lighter vein; both sound tailor-made for indie dance nights post-COVID. Their guitar lines are wiry and playful, weaving in and out of hyper drum beats and improved melodies.
Frontman Charlie Steen is one of the most enthralling leads around. In ‘Water in the Well,’ he’s all cheeky chappy, winking his way through the track; on the low and ominous ‘Snow Day,’ he’s theatrical and menacing. Before all of this, he inhabits the raucous opener ‘Alphabet’ with pure unadorned punk virility. In a time where seeing the sweaty and virulent live Shame experience is out of the question, Drunk Tank Pink does well to capture just a droplet of Steen’s magnetism.
‘Human, for a Minute’ dials the tempo down, a sombre discussion of finding love. They then sound like their old selves on tracks like ‘Great Dog’ and ‘6/1,’ all brawling and thrashing energy. ‘Station Wagon’ is an introspective and moving closer, Steen calmer and careful in his presentation. “But nobody said this was gonna be easy / And with you as my witness / I'm gonna try and achieve / The unachievable,” he dramatically implores. After the ten previous songs looked back at the difficult birth of their second incarnation, ‘Station Wagon’ looks to Shame’s future third act; Steen knows it won’t be easy but anything worth doing never is. They're still only in their early 20’s after all.