shame - Food For Worms

If a previous release was fueled by pint-sloshing teenage vitriol, and the follow-up delved into an intense, internal identity crisis, this one marks a hard-won evolution. Written after years of shared stages and long nights, it finds the band moving beyond themselves to look outward—toward friendship, connection, and the strange emotional landscape that comes with growing up together.

This record is a sonic departure, abandoning post-punk roots for something more expansive and melodic. Drawing influence from the tense atmospherics of Merchandise, the sharp yet simple lyrics of Lou Reed, and the melodic sensibilities of 90s German band Blumfeld, it embraces a raw honesty. “I don’t think you can be in your own head forever,” says the vocalist, describing the shift. “It’s weird, isn’t it? Popular music is always about love, heartbreak, or yourself. There isn’t much about your mates.”

In many ways, it’s an ode to friendship, a document of the intimate, chaotic, sometimes volatile bond that only five people growing up and surviving together can share. Or, as they put it themselves: “The Lamborghini of shame records.”

Label: Dead Oceans
Format: Transparent Purple Vinyl