South London rockers Shame have announced their third album, “Food for Worms”, due to be released February 24th, 2023, on Dead Oceans Records. The Lead single and album opener “Fingers of Steel” is out now and Shame frontman Charlie Steen describes the band’s follow up to “Drunk Tank Pink“ as “the Lamborghini of Shame records,” while a press release says the album, produced by Flood (Nick Cave, U2, PJ Harvey), “marks a sonic departure from anything they’ve done before, and—for the first time—the band are not delving inwards, but seeking to capture the world around them.” On “Fingers of Steel,” Steen and company pair this new perspective with a fresh sense of purpose and restraint. The brute force post-punk of their 2018 debut “Songs of Praise” is gone, replaced by more clear-eyed precision and complex instrumentation.
A distant piano is soon joined by staccato guitar and backing vocals, as Steen observes an avatar of our modern plight: Alone, indoors, days devoid of meaningful connection, chasing fake validation online—always wanting, never fulfilled. “Well, this time you feel that you’ve been found / But when you look there’s no one around,” shame sing in unison, their singalong punctuated with spidery riffs. Looming synths cast a shadow over the song halfway in, like the sun going down at the end of an already-dark day. An explosive solo races like an anxious mind, shortly before the song drifts to an abrupt end.
“Fingers of Steel” by Shame from the upcoming album ‘Food for Worms’, out February 24th on Dead Oceans Records.
The Fat Angel Sings 