If Winona Ryder’s Beetlejuice character Lydia Deetz formed a band, that band would be Secret Shame. The North Carolina-based group’s sophomore LP Dark Syntheticsdraws on ’80s goth and post-punk, but brings it into faster and brighter territory. Singer Lena Machina’s dramatically melancholy vocals roar over layers of reverb and swirling, slashing guitar riffs, creating a sonic vortex that swallows everything in its path.
“There’s a rage trembling under the group’s chiming post-punk, which winds itself around an ultimatum about self-preservation…” – The New York Times
“Secret Shame channel both the tragic beauty and spooky ambience of a graveyard.” – Paste Magazine
“Secret Shame’s new album Dark Synthetics is a seven-song tempest of guitar-driven dark post-punk in the vein of Skeletal Family, Rubella Ballet, and Look Back in Anger.” – post-punk.com
“The band thunder around Lena like a horde of bats…” – bandcamp.com
“I can’t get over the vocals – they soar high above many out there right now. Not only am I transfixed by the vocal tone, but also the driving and intense music that the whole band creates.” – CVLT Nation
“Secret Shame make gloomy, melodic rock steeped in ’80s goth and post-punk.” – BrooklynVegan
Originally released September 6th, 2019
Lena – vocals, lyrics, synth
Matthew – bass, synth
Nathan – drums
Billie – guitar, synth
Ryynikki – guitar
The Fat Angel Sings 