U.K. post-punks Shame have announced their second album Drunk Tank Pink, out on Jan. 15 via Dead Oceans. The album was produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz, Florence and the Machine), and it’s the follow-up to their acclaimed 2018 debut LP Songs of Praise. To coincide with the album announcement, the band also shared the Pedro Takahashi-directed video for their new track “Water in the Well,” which follows their previous single “Alphabet.”
“Water in the Well” has the exact kind of youthful, unbridled giddiness that makes Shame’s music feel so urgent and essential. Complete with shakers, funky percussion and life-affirming backing vocals, the song leaves an impression via sheer energy and conviction.
Per a press release, the album was inspired by the bubbling crises the band felt and shared with those around them. “The common theme when I was catching up with my mates was this identity crisis everyone was having,” frontman Charlie Steen says. “No one knows what the fuck is going on.”
The album was also influenced by guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith’s disillusionment with his instrument, turning to the funkier side of post-punk instead. “For this album I was so bored of playing guitar,” Coyle-Smith says. “The thought of even playing it was mind-numbing. So I started to write and experiment in all these alternative tunings and not write or play in a conventional ‘rock’ way.”
Listen to “Water in the Well” below, and preorder Drunk Tank Pink here. Scroll down for the album artwork and tracklist.
Drunk Tank Pink Album Artwork:
Drunk Tank Pink Tracklist:
01. Alphabet
02. Nigel Hitter
03. Born in Luton
04. March Day
05. Water in the Well
06. Snow Day
07. Human, for a Minute
08. Great Dog
09. 6/1
10. Harsh Degrees
11. Station Wagon