Unapologetically Cutthroat: Shame at Neumos

South London dwellers, shame treated us to a pre-valentine’s day funk at Neumos. Seattle had the pleasure of closing out the American leg of their tour celebrating their fourth album, Cutthroat.  Since their Seattle debut eight years ago, it’s apparent much growing has been done. This round, we meet them more matured, relaxed in their theatrics. Cutthroat itself is sharp with collected direction. Its aspects are tame(r), as the vision is clearer and more direct. It’s nipped and tucked but not as such that it takes away from the substance of sound I’ve loved from the five piece.

Frontman Charlie Steen poses for the pictures we want; he knows how to work the cameras perspective. Shirtless in a priest’s collar, member of the clergy symbolism, he’s a showman giving a sermon.  He uses his microphone stand to conduct us along. Slinging it behind his neck, his arms hung over the top, like he’s hostage in a guillotine.  Sunglasses, suspenders, giving head honcho, crowd controller, conductor, he acts and we follow suit. He’s more understated than he has been but still not lacking energy by any means. He enunciates words with sergeant like vigor and delivers them with conviction that dares me to believe this could go doubly well on a rap beat.

The live version of “Lampião” was the highlight of the night. The opening chant (sung in Portuguese) takes elements from the traditional Brazilian folk song “Acorda Maria Bonita.” Steen’s showman x MC cadence coax forward vivid imagery with poetic structure. The song on its own? Punk as fuck, Shame’s interpretation? Punk as fuck. On the ear drums, the instrumentation has a pulse of its own, specifically the whimsical, distorted, overdrive heavy guitar outro.

During tube screamy wah and thundering bass forward “Six-Pack,” drums wind up into calls for battle sending bassist Josh Finerty skidding across stage in roadrunner fashion, jumping into the air as symbols crash down. The possession sends him into front flips on stage as he plays.

They create dynamic pieces together, picture of boy band brotherhood. It’s a side of masculinity we don’t often see, funny enough it’s a side I relate to. Letting the tidal waves out without embodying full destruction. Very vulnerable.

Astute introspection narrates the innate need in us to search for meaning or make sense of this all. Insightfulness becomes more and more pronounced throughout their projects. Shame excels in how they conduct this dynamic, living pulse through like a wave. Every song is a wave on the shore swelling small, gaining momentum bigger into a crash onto the shore washing gently over the sun. With a knack for introspection, exhaling collective consciousness in a manner that longs for more or grieves the thought of it. This genre of contemporary post punk narrates in present thought. It’s vulnerable, relatable.

The connection between the five piece is unobjectionable. Guitarist Sean Coyle-Smith talks to us after the show, confirming the bond they have: how friendship with Charlie Steen stems back all the way to elementary school, how the name shame came about from drummer Charlie Forbes’ father, Lennon who then also become the cover of their Drunk Tank Pink and the fully collaborative nature of their creative process. He mentions that they write together, agreeing on what they all like before it makes it to the album, “The hardest part of song writing is finding stuff people are into.” He tells us Cutthroat differs from past albums by being “simpler, faster” but he remains partial to their record Drunk Tank Pink due to his fondness for his writing on “Snow Day.” He describes “Adderall” as an ode to his girlfriend and details his love for Seattle, afterwards hitting a hot dog stand for a Seattle dog.

Shame has a unique way of breathing life into their storytelling. Reminding us we are mutual souls, experiencing the world, growing older, watching the rose color stint fade from our glasses, still partying even though this is all a tragedy. An experience growing in complexity. Very somber, sober melancholy resulting in a catharsis. Narrating the innate need in us to search for meaning, to make sense of this all.

Go see these genuine lads if you get the chance to.

Favorite Tracks: Lampiao, Axis of Evil, Burning By Design, Angie, Snow Day, Human for a Minute, Lampoon, Born in Luton, Alibis, Cutthroat.

Photos: Sophia Barkalakis @s.barkalakis