After sharing the stage with Black Midi in 2022, shame is set to return to Istanbul on October 26, 2025.
I don’t want to get too sentimental, but isn’t shame one of those bands you love to listen to while walking fast in the rain — even taking the longer route just to keep listening? In their latest album, they confront the hypocrisy around them with brutal honesty, holding up a mirror to us all.
Through their fierce and honest expression, they momentarily douse the flames of our inner rage — only to spark them even higher: “’Cause when you’ve been pushed down, there’s nowhere to go but up. When you ain’t got nothing, you ain’t got nothing to lose.” – shame
My impression is that shame occupies a space where everyone can find something in their music. In the songs where they point out what’s not real, what we see might actually be the truth itself.
Even when listened to from different corners of the world, these songs are connected by the feelings of those who feel — and the shame of those who make others feel. Simply put, shame reminds us that human hypocrisy is a universal phenomenon.
For those looking for something a bit more Wikipedia-like: shame is a British five-piece post-punk band from South London. Formed in 2014, the group consists of lead vocalist Charlie Steen, guitarists Eddie Green and Sean Coyle-Smith, bassist Josh Finerty, and drummer Charlie Forbes.
Their debut album, Songs of Praise, was released in 2018, followed by Drunk Tank Pink in 2021. The band’s third record, Food for Worms, arrived in 2023, and Cutthroat marks their fourth studio album, released on September 5, 2025, via Dead Oceans.
Photography by Jamie Wdziekonski
