Earlier this year I was lucky enough to see shame and it might have been one of the best shows I've seen in years. I'm thrilled we already have new music from the South London band, and especially since it's such a sonic shift for them. "Fingers of Steel" is much more melodic than anything off 2021's Drunk Tank Pink while still sounding like what we love about shame. It's a new style of post punk that's less aggressive and more sonically pleasing although it's also more discordant than they typically get. Everything about "Fingers of Steel" seems just slightly off and out of tune, but that's kind of what makes the song great. It's so close to being a mainstream straight up modern rock song, but shame just could never quite do that so you get another wonderfully unique song like this one.
You can watch the video for "Fingers of Steel" below. Food for Worms is due out February 24 on Dead Oceans, which can be pre-ordered here. For more on shame, check out the band on Facebook and Twitter. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Wed. Mar. 1 - Dublin, IE @ Button Factory Fri. Mar. 3 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Sat. Mar. 4 - Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop Sun. Mar. 5 - Leeds, UK @ Stylus Tue. Mar. 7 - Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill Wed. Mar. 8 - Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Thu. Mar. 9 - Bristol, UK @ SWX Sat. Mar. 11 - Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall Sun. Mar. 12 - Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed Tue. Mar. 14 - Nantes, FR @ Stereolux Wed. Mar. 15 - Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage Thu. Mar. 16 - Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey Sat. Mar. 18 - Lisbon, PT @ LAV Sun. Mar. 19 - Madrid, ES @ Nazca Mon. Mar. 20 - Barcelona, ES @ La 2 de Apolo Wed. Mar. 22 - Nimes, FR @ Paloma Thu. Mar. 23 - Milan, IT @ Magnolia Fri. Mar. 24 - Zurich, CH @ Plaza Sun. Mar. 26 - Munich, DE @ Technikum Mon. Mar. 27 - Berlin, DE @ Astra Tue. Mar. 28 - Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle Thu. Mar. 30 - Oslo, NO @ Vulkan Fri. Mar. 31 - Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Sat. Apr. 1 - Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Mon. Apr. 3 - Brussels, BE @ AB Tue. Apr. 4 - Cologne, DE @ Floria Thu. Apr. 6 - Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Fri. Apr. 28 - London, UK @ Brixton Academy Wed. May 10 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall Fri. May 12 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Sat. May 13 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Sun. May 14 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Tue. May 16 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair Thu. May 18 - Montréal, QC @ Foufounes Électriques Fri. May 19 - Ottawa, ON @ Club SAW Sat. May 20 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace Mon. May 22 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Wed. May 24 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. May 26 - St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Sat. May 27 - Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck Sun. May 28 - Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge Tue. May 30 - Dallas,TX @ Granada Theater Fri. Jun. 2 - Austin, TX @ The Scoot Inn Sat. Jun. 3 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Sun. Jun. 4 - New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
Photo by Calli Westra Brooklyn's Hiding Places are originally from North Carolina, and that sound is all over their latest single. "Waiting" has a strong alt-country meets dark indie rock sound. The song is as hypnotic as it is heartbreaking. Even if you're not paying attention to the lyrics, the vibe of the song is overwhelmingly dark and somber. There's plenty of country twang and indie rock fuzz throughout the song, with the music carrying the weight of the song as much as vocalist/guitarist Nicholas Byrne's voice does. The song is stunning, both in its beauty and mood. I feel like I've been sitting on "Waiting" for a while now until I could fully wrap my head around it. Hiding Places has something truly special here. Nicholas Byrne says of his band's latest single: "Hiding Places’ first bassist, Anthony Cozzarelli, left the band in July of 2022. I wrote the chorus the day before Anthony left the band. I recalled the slow death of my ...
Photo by Tonje Thilesen Ezra Furman has to be one of the most unique and yet all encompassing artists out today. Her latest single, "Forever In Sunset," combines elements of singer/songwriter fare, electronic music, and indie rock. It's an intense song that is almost a power ballad but is a little too heavy at times for that. It's a mish-mash of glam, adult contemporary, and post punk. That should not work at all, but most artists aren't Furman who apparently can do literally anything musically and make it masterful. Ezra Furman says of her new song: “The biggest influence on the lyrics of this song is a conversation I had with a friend of mine. When Covid was first hitting, she was talking to me a lot about how ready she felt. She was like, ‘people who have been comfortable in life are freaking out right now. But queer people like me have been in crisis before. I grew up poor and my family kicked me out when I was a teenager. My world has already ended plenty of ...
Photo by Gia Smith There's prolific, and then there's Derek Smith. The Boston musician's latest single with the Cosmic Vultures, "Hollow Choir," is his eightieth song in the past eight years. It also helps explain the genre psychedelic folk-rock. The song is a little over three minutes, but the genre makes it feel much more epic. It's smooth sounding with trippy little flourishes, particularly in the guitar. At times, it sounds almost Adult Contemporary, but it's far too psychedelic for that. It's the play between the mainstream and the alternative side of folk that makes "Hollow Choir" work so well. Derek Smith and the Cosmic Vultures have long had this ability to provide a little something for everyone, and their latest proves that more than previous ones have. Derek Smith says of his latest single: “This song sums up the feelings I have had towards my music career for the last few years. I am always being told what I should do or what I sh...
