Last month, UK punk outfit Shame announced their sophomore album Drunk Tank Pink, and now the band is back with the new single “Snow Day”.
The song kicks off with a blizzard of percussion, with an ascending guitar riff as light and sharp as an ice pick. Drums and strings provide the most consistent through-line in what turns out to be a challenging and varied song. Vocalist Charlie Steen opens in a low voice pitched to spoken word. “I’m turning my head from the wind,” he says, “It’s cold but i’ve been colder.” After languishing in this cool detachment, he suddenly vaults into a gale-force wail, singing, “I dismiss everything in front of me!” As “Snow Day” continues, Shame sometimes briefly slow down, or reset to spoken word only to try something else. It’s one of the most ambitious tracks of their young career.
“Snow Day” comes with a drone-footage visualizer. The camera spins and soars over snow-capped Scottish hills, sometimes resting on a pleasant vista or nearly disappearing in blinding snow. Check it out below.
Drunk Tank Pink drops January 15th via Dead Oceans. Previously, the rockers shared the singles “Alphabet” and “Water in the Well”.