More about: Shame

South London punk rockers Shame have unveiled the video for new tune ‘Concrete’, available now on streaming services worldwide.

Kicking off with a machine-gun volley of guitars, lead singer Charlie Steen – all close-cropped hair, braces and bovver boots – stomps through three and a half minutes of angry introspection, with shouty call and response vocals between 19-year-old Steen and bassist Josh Finnerty.

According to Bob Boilen at NPR, Steen describes the lyric as "a flâneur's perspective on the psychological and emotionally draining effects of a doomed relationship – a moment where all of the worries and thoughts one might feel within this entrapment are isolated and embraced – a moment where the futility of reasoning is accepted."

Unusually then, it seems the song is a bit of a lovey-dovey lament. This contrasts sharply with their other output, which – true to their punk roots – addresses questions of social injustice and politics. Brexit, for instance, looms large. For instance, consider the words to ‘Visa Vulture’, a crude love song to Theresa May: “Oh Theresa, baby / We’ve been going for a while / But I think I want more than your sideways smile.”

Not cutting enough? Ok, try this: “Oh Theresa, honey / Know I mind the gap / With my chargrilled meat inside your butter-bread baps.”

Their incendiary live shows are something to behold with Steen leaping all over the stage and into the crowd. They’re on record as saying a gig is meant to be entertainment, and not five lads staring at their guitar pedals for an hour and a bit.

Check out this witty, fresh and timely new voice for yourself live next month across the UK.

OCTOBER
09 – Bristol, Louisiana
10 – Leeds, Lending Room
11 – Manchester, Soup Kitchen
12 – Edinburgh, Sneaky Pete’s
13 – Liverpool, Buyers Club
14 – Dublin, Workman’s Club
18 – London, Scala
21 – Cardiff, SWN Festival

More about: Shame