In a Cutthroat world, shame are embracing the power of fun

shame just want to have fun.

After giving the British guitar scene a kick up the arse with their sarky 2018 debut album Songs Of Praise, the London five-piece got self-reflective for melancholic follow-up records Drunk Tank Pink and Food For Worms. Their most recent LP, 2025’s Cutthroat is a smirking return to playful, post-punk chaos though – and the live shows have never been better. 

The band, vocalist Charlie Steen, guitarists Eddie Green and Sean Coyle-Smith, bassist Josh Finerty and drummer Charlie Forbes, first got together as teenagers to pass the time during school holidays. A family friend knew the landlord of nearby boozer The Queen’s Head and let them practice in an upstairs room, while the ragtag group of regulars introduced the kids to punk icons like The Fall and The Stooges. ​“There wasn’t much ambition to any of it,” says Steen, fresh from shame’s recent headline tour of Asia. ​“We just wanted to play music that we liked and have a laugh.” It quickly became more than that.

shame became the focal point for a blossoming south London scene that’s still creating brilliantly odd guitar bands, and they helped kickstart a post-punk resurgence alongside Idles and Fontaines D.C., though their music has never stuck religiously to the genre’s angular rules. ​“We’re still friends with all those bands and it’s really cool the direction they’ve all gone in. Everyone’s just done their own thing.” Steen reckons Shame’s ability to dabble in electronic, punk and folk music is because of how young they were when they started. ​“There was just a lot to discover.”

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shame’s breakout hit ​‘One Rizla’ was fuelled by Steen’s own insecurities about musical ability and body image. At their boisterous gigs, he confronted those uncertainties head on by performing without a shirt, though he’s only recently felt sure enough to admit that was the reason why. ​“We started the band just before I turned 17 and like a majority of teenagers, I was uncomfortable in so many aspects of life. Being in shame was something I actually felt comfortable doing, and I wanted to embrace that,” he explains. ​“I hope we create an environment where people feel comfortable too.”

A lot of the band’s earlier influences also came from what he calls the weirdos and outcasts of guitar music. ​“That’s still a lot of the purpose of shame. We’re not supposed to be the cool kids, we’re supposed to be the losers.”

Wanting to find their tribe, shame hit the road hard. Setlist​.FM reckons they played 162 shows in 2018 but despite seeing packed rooms around the world scream along to every word Steen sang, he returned home more introspective than ever. ​“I still don’t think I’m very good at dealing with things, but in your early 20s, no one is really prepared for all the things you go through.” Breakups, issues with mental health and getting on it too much all fed into 2021’s more moody Drunk Tank Pink. ​“Whenever I was feeling anxious, I’d write about it. That was my way of confronting it.” The prettier, more vulnerable Food For Worms saw Steen reflecting on growing older and the changes in long-lasting friendships.

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Their music has never been miserable, and their shows never dour but for Cutthroat, shame really wanted to tap back into the joy that first inspired them to start making music together. ​“It’s a return to centre,” says Steen. ​“It’s easier to have fun now we’ve made it through [those growing pains].” They teamed up with producer John Congleton after his work on Mannequin Pussy’s beloved 2024 album I Got Heaven and took influence from dance titans The Chemical Brothers, pub rockers Dr. Feelgood, indie icons The Cramps, and Roxy Music’s glam extravagance for the viciously energetic new record. Each of the 12 unapologetic tracks brings something new to the record, from the cocksure rock & roll swagger of the title track to the stripped-back ​‘Spartack’, which provides the album’s only self-reflective moment. In the studio, the rule was if you wanted to do something, then just fucking do it. ​“It’s just fun to write excessive music,” grins Steen.

That same energy fuels the character-driven songs about ​“conflicted protagonists” that make up Cutthroat. The searing ​‘Screwdriver’ was written about the regulars the band grew up with at The Queen’s Head, ​‘Cowards Around’ tars Members of Parliament, people who don’t garnish their food and selfish potheads with the same brush, ​‘Lampião’ is about the 20^th Century Brazilian outlaw. ​“Some people thought he was a hero, others thought he was a monster. It got me thinking about if good people can do bad things, and if bad people can do good things,” says Steen, who was also inspired by Oscar Wilde satire and the books of Hubert Selby Jr. and F. Scott Fitzgerald. ​“I don’t know if it’s making any statement other than it’s just what I’m interested in.”

Cutthroat, like Songs Of Praise, champions embracing insecurities and ignoring the critical, pessimistic people in your life. ​“Without sounding too cheesy, the record’s about being yourself, following what you want to follow and trying to have a good time doing it.”

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shame are spending most of 2026 on the road before they start thinking about what comes next. ​“You always have something to prove [when you get onstage] but this is the best set we’ve ever had… though you’d fucking hope so after four albums. It’s nice to feel that confident.” There’s an overdue return to South America and a lot of festivals, including a homecoming gig on June 6 at Shoreditch’s Village Underground as part of a Huck curated showcase at SXSW London. ​“I had one of my first pills in that venue when I was 16 and I threw up in the middle of the room.”

Touring has been the ​“backbone” of shame’s career. ​“I’ve got so many foggy memories of travelling the world and as a guitar band, it’s the only way to survive,” says Steen. He admits that even after four albums, it still always feels like the whole thing could come crashing down at any moment but he’s not too worried. ​“Even picking a ​‘safe’ career doesn’t mean you’re not going to get made redundant,” he shrugs. ​“Our ambitions now are to keep moving forward. We want to see what we can write, play the best shows we can and just have a good time with it.”

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shame headline Huck’s showcase at SXSW London on Friday, June 5 at Village Underground. For more information and to purchase a pass, visit SXSW London’s official website.

Ali Shutler is a freelance music and culture journalist. Follow him on X.

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