Shame have released a righteous, raucous new single called BiL. The live track premiered today (October 29th) and follows their latest single Alphabet, which came out on September 10th.
Shame played BiL live from Electric Brixton, one of London’s token live music venues. Ja Humbly, also known as his alias, Molten Jets, directed the live video, which is said to be the first teaser of Shames’ upcoming Shame live session film.
Molton Jets shared the live video of BiL directly to his YouTube channel today. Gathering over 4700 views, the live version of BiL can be watched here.
The track opens with a defiant, repetitive percussive beat, setting a riotous tone to the song. With no time to waste, Shame play a jagged riff on the electric guitar, building the anticipation, before taking BiL down a notch to a low tempo transition led by lead vocalist Charlie Steen.
Steen’s raw vocals encapsulate a person lost and confused. Steen croons the forlorn lyrics, seemingly singing to a lost love: “I’ve been waiting outside for all of my life, And now I’ve got to the door there’s no one inside, When are you coming back?”
This theme continues throughout the song. Steen questions the unknown persona, singing “When are you coming home? I’ve been kicking the curb, I’ve been chipping the stone.”
Shame took to Instagram today to ring in the release of BiL. The South London group shared a snippet of their live performance, announcing the new track’s arrival in the caption: “BiL, live from Electric Brixton. Our newest offering into the world is available now via link in bio.” The post, which has already received over 6000 likes, elicited an excited reaction from fans. One overjoyed fan wrote: “Wow! I am in love with this tune already!”
Thankfully, BiL will not be a standalone single from the band, because Shame has confirmed that there will be a live session film recorded entirely from Electric Brixton. The release date of the live session film remains unconfirmed, and fans can only hope it comes out sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Shame are set to return to the Electric Brixton in April 2021. Naturally, the upcoming show is already sold out.
According to Hannah Overton from the Secret Group, a record label that manages the band, said fans can expect a new Shame album in 2021. In an interview with Music Week in August, Overton relayed Shames’ eagerness to put out new material.
Overton declared that “We’re really excited to be able to put out new music from them, and they’ve been working really hard on an album.” Overton also relayed that the coronavirus pandemic “has been difficult for Shame” who take great joy in playing insane shows.
Overton said that “Lockdown has been difficult for them because obviously they’re a brilliant live band and should have been playing this summer. I really hope they will be able to play some live shows, if not towards the end of this year then definitely next year. There will be more music coming from them really soon.”
Alternative rock band Shame consists of Charlie Forbes, Eddie Green, Charlie Steen Sean Coyle-Smith, and James Finerty. Songs of Praise, their showstopping debut album, came out in 2018.
BiL is out now.
