Shame - Drunk Tank Pink - Deluxe Edition

#2 Crash 2021 Top 40

Shame - Drunk Tank Pink - Deluxe Edition

Tracklist
Side A:
1. Alphabet
2. Nigel Hitter
3. Born in Luton
4. March Day
5. Water in the Well
6. Snow Day
Side B:
7. Human, for a Minute
8. Great Dog
9. 6/1
10. Harsh Degrees
11. Station Wagon
Side C:
12. Alphabet (Demo)
13. Nigel Hitter (Demo)
14. Born in Luton (Demo)
15. March Day (Demo)
16. Water in the Well (Demo)
17. Snow Day (Demo)
Side D:
18. Human, for a Minute (Demo)
19. Great Dog (Demo)
20. 6/1 (Demo)
21. Harsh Degrees (Demo)
22. Station Wagon (Demo)

There are moments on Drunk Tank Pink where you almost
have to reach for the sleeve to check this is the same band
who made 2018’s Songs Of Praise. Such is the jump Shame
have made from the riotous post-punk of their debut to the
sprawling adventurism and twitching anxieties laid out here.

The South Londoner’s blood and guts spirit, that wink and
grin of devious charm, is still present, it’s just that it’s grown
into something bigger, something deeper, more ambitious and
unflinchingly honest. The genius of Drunk Tank Pink is how
these lyrical themes dovetail with the music.

Opener Alphabet dissects the premise of performance over a siren call of
nervous, jerking guitars, its chorus thrown out like a beer bottle
across a mosh pit.Songs spin off and lurch into unexpected
directions throughout here, be it March Day’s escalating aural
panic attack or the shapeshifting darkness of Snow Day. There’s
a Berlin era Bowie beauty to the lovelorn Human For A Minute
while closer Station Wagon weaves from a downbeat mooch
into a souring, soullifting climax in which Steen elevates himself
beyond the clouds and into the heavens. Or at least that’s what
it sounds like. From the womb to the clouds (sort of), Shame
are currently very much in the pink.

This deluxe edition includes the full tracklist as early demos.
These previously unreleased versions tell the story behind the
James Ford produced album that cemented the band as one of
the most exciting in British music today.