Album Review: shame - 'Cutthroat'
Shame’s sonic excellence has never been clearer than on their 4th studio album “Cutthroat”.
Shame is no stranger to the wider world of rock music nowadays, from starting as a small, hometown five-piece hailing from South London, Shame has spearheaded the genre with raw aggression and creative grit. Shame uses a macabre, Frankenstein-esque blend of sound to create something volatile and sharp. This is evident in every track but has never been clearer than on the brand-new album “Cutthroat”, releasing September 5th via Dead Oceans. This new rung on the ladder is a step up for the band as they drift their way through the landscape of the 2025 rock scene, having toured with household names like the Foo Fighters and IDLES they have cemented the memory of their action packed and explosive live shows into the minds of everyone in attendance and have undoubtably made new fans that will return for their great European tour this winter.
“Cutthroat” opens on the title track and sets up the narrative for the rest of the album excellently as the thumping bass of Josh Finerty and refined drum beats of Charlie Forbes kick the track off, coupled with some all too familiar electronic influences. This adds a Kasabian-type vibe to the song without detracting anything from the band’s own creative fingerprint—this ability to take influence from the art around them and mould it into something unheard of and explosive is mesmerising, and there is no doubt in my mind that this song will be a stadium anthem for the masses in the not-so-distant future. Working with new Grammy-winning producer John Congleton is clearly paying its dividends as the opening track creates a cleaner and more precise sound than their other albums. It takes the beauty and power of their usually raw and habitual sound. It adds a level of expertise and precision that elevates this band to a future festival headliner position.
It’s very easy to fall into a trap when creating a fresh-sounding body of work. As soon as you find a sound you like, it's difficult to experiment and move away from it, whether that's due to fear of failure or just a comfort zone. This is something Shame does not do in any way, shape or form. The entire midsection of the album remains fresh, keeping the listener engaged and guessing. The band does an excellent job of distinguishing the vibes of their songs, not in a predictable manner, but in one that keeps things fun. This is executed perfectly when separating songs like “Cowards Around” and “Nothing Better”. One is a deep and introspective look at the injustice and wealth inequality in post-austerity Britain, with a brilliant lyrical performance from Charlie Steen and a potent and pressing message to the audience, and the other is an up tempo rhythmic masterpiece in the guitar department from the dynamic duo Sean Coyle-Smith and Eddie Green about how the idle are nothing but “Shit crack at the pub”. While being evidently different songs, they still feel bound to the same body of work from the excellence done in both the writing sessions and the post-production.
The singles for this album, “Spartack”, “Quiet Life” and the aforementioned “Cutthroat” are all shining examples for this body of work, I’m very glad I was not in the band and labels shoes as I honestly could not choose 3 to highlight over the others as this album is truly best enjoyed in one sitting, despite this the singles do an excellent job at bringing out the lighter, more indie focused elements to this album while also demonstrating the depths of skill and improvement consistently on display from Shame. They leave you guessing and wanting more on their own, but when neatly placed in the track order of the full album, they act as pillars that uphold the creative process and experimentation that truly make this album.
The album closes out with possibly one of the best 3 track runs in recent memory. Honestly, if I could talk about every single track on this album, I would, but we’d be here all day, so I’ll spare you the ramble. “Screwdriver”, “Packshot”, and “Axis Of Evil” are all exemplary tracks and hammer home the album with efficiency and creative prowess. “Screwdriver” emerges at full speed and is probably an all-encompassing display of chemistry and graft. Everything is pinpoint accurate and hits the mark with every note. The entire band is on top form for the whole track, and they really push the limit in terms of speed and experimentation. “Packshot” and “Axis Of Evil” then throw the listener an immediate curveball by breaking the flow of the album and introducing a sound that hits the brakes and pumps the melancholy; this sounds like Radiohead on a whole ton of substances. It’s a mess, but in the best way possible, it has this horror movie soundtrack feel that is cornering and inescapable, but at the same time elegant and flowing before crashing in a cacophony of beautiful sound to close out the song. This then ambles into “Axis of Power”, with its electropop backdrop and fuzzy synths, it creates a powerhouse track to close out the album and leave you craving more for the foreseeable future.
“Cutthroat” is the epitome of shame and works tirelessly to create a new sound that not just the audience enjoys but the band as well. This album is true art and is undoubtedly going to be best enjoyed, sat down and listening attentively to the whole thing. The band hits the road in September to tour Europe and test the waters with the new tracks. I am overcome with excitement to see how some of these songs translate into live versions and how the crowd reacts to the onslaught of fun that is this album. Cutthroat is out September 5th and is worth every ounce of time and money you could possibly put into it, so sit back, relax, and get weird!
Words by Josh Pook
