Covers are a terrible way to know a book – or a band. For years, Shame have been introduced by the same shorthands: South London roots, visceral punk, comparisons to Fat White Family etc etc. But the group have long outgrown such easy categorisation, and their inventive new album ‘Cutthroat’ makes that abundantly clear. It’s the sound of a band expanding, rather than relying on the angst so often associated with modern post-punk groups. We sat down with guitarist Eddie Green backstage at their huge London headline to chat about everything from his favourite new London acts and collaborating with Jim E. Brown.
Today is the final leg of the tour. How’s it been touring Europe fully?
It’s been great. I mean, we quite literally – with a few exceptions – pretty much did the whole continent front to back, so it’s strange to be back on familiar ground tonight. Every single night has been a real corker of a show; I don’t think we’ve ever had a tour like that before. It’s just nice to go to all these places and know there’s a fan base there and people are coming out.
What’s the best gig you’ve done on this tour?
Paris was a particular highlight. Warsaw as well was great, which was surprising because we haven’t played in Warsaw for six or seven years at least, so to go back there and have such a great reception was pretty awesome. Going to places we’ve never been before like Belgrade in Serbia is quite career-affirming, to know there are people in all these far-flung places who are into the music.
The new album feels like a bit of a switch-up in terms of sound—moving away from the typical post-punk or art-punk leanings Shame had, and more toward garage rock aesthetics. It feels more intense at times. What were the inspirations behind this?
I think what we were really going for with Cutthroat was just a record that adequately served the live show. These songs were written for the live show, and what we wanted to do above everything was draw on every disparate angle of what we’ve done before. I feel like this record has clear reminders of every record we’ve made: you’ve got the ballady ones, the weird ’70s psych-rock ones, and the slightly more angular, dark and moody stuff that wouldn’t have been out of place on Drunk Tank Pink.
Then it obviously begs the question—where do you go from there? We’re going to have to really reinvent the wheel for the next one. Maybe take two years off, figure everything out, no gigs. I haven’t even started thinking about it yet.
Yesterday a video came out with two of you and Jim E. Brown. Is that going anywhere—any collaboration with him?
I don’t know. I mean, yeah, we certainly could. I’d be well up for doing a musical collaboration with Jim E. Brown. But yesterday was just a casual meetup. We had some fish and chips and a beer and he came down to the show. Obviously it was quite tough for a 19-year-old alcoholic with several degenerative conditions to stay up that late, but he made it work.
On the topic of Jim E. Brown – it seems that when he’s been in the UK he’s mostly played independent venues. What are your thoughts on independent music in London and in the UK in general?
I think London is in a fortunate position, relatively speaking, compared to the rest of the country. Independent venues here do seem to be lasting through the tough times. You’ve got the Windmill, which was plausibly faced with closure during the pandemic, but all these important venues have, for the most part, managed to struggle on. I think that’s a testament to the level of community around independent venues in London.
Unfortunately, for the rest of the country it hasn’t been the same. But those that are still there continue to carry the flag for grassroots music and are doing the thing as best they can. Community spirit is definitely at an all-time high, but the conditions grassroots venues face are undoubtedly very tough at the moment.
Do you have any recommendations for less-known venues—not the usual Windmill or George Tavern?
I don’t know. I think what really puts a place on the map is having a booker with their finger on the pulse, booking curated lineups—full evenings of music people are actually going to want to watch back-to-back. There’s no use having a folk-rock opener, a pop middle act, and then a metal finisher. It’s just not going to work. The most important thing is having a really passionate and involved booker who’s in tune with the cool stuff happening at the time.
Let’s put you in the mind of a booker—do you have any favourite new up-and-coming acts right now?
Yeah, there’s loads. There’s so much amazing stuff going on. We’ve got a band called Theatre opening for us tonight. There’s a band called Westside Cowboy that I’m really into—they seem to be getting super popular at the minute; everyone in London is talking about them. I think the Scala show they’re doing next year is already sold out. I’m still yet to catch them live, so we’ll see if I can wangle a ticket for that.
There’s also a guy called Black Fondu who’s channeling these really intense, Death Grips-y instrumentals with one of the most intense and erratic performances I’ve ever seen. I caught him in January and he was insane. Probably the most raw and energetic act right now, in my opinion. I think the Windmill had to have a word with him about breaking mic stands, but yeah—he’s awesome.
Words: Noelle Radewicz