Post-punk is such a long-running style that its 21st century practitioners sometimes sound like they're going through the motions, but
Shame
's
Songs of Praise
is a reminder of just how vital it is at its best. On their debut album, the South London band certainly recalls legends like
Television Personalities
and
Gang of Four
, as well as newer acts such as
Iceage
Savages
. But even if the framework of their music is familiar, the energy they bring to it feels new, electrifying their songs as they bridge the personal and political with wit and fury. On the bristling "Concrete," singer
Charlie Steen
and bassist
Josh Finerty
's vocals ricochet off each other as they express both sides of the internal debate of someone trapped in a go-nowhere relationship; later, on "Gold Hole,"
explore the fine line between exploitation and empowerment as they teeter between taut and frantic. Here and throughout
, it feels like
are using these sounds to rage against the world's injustices for the first time.
Steen
's charisma is one of the band's greatest assets, and his charisma carries lyrics as on-the-nose as "Friction"'s "Do you know the difference between what is right and what is wrong?"
also displays an impressive amount of range and ambition on
. On the
Cribs
-esque "One Rizla" and "Tasteless," they prove they're just as skilled at polished guitar pop as they are ferocious rants like "Donk" and "The Lick." The band even get a bit arty on the album's dour opener "Dust on Trial" and particularly on its seven-minute finale "Angie," a slow-burning tale of star-crossed love and suicide. Whether they're sophisticated or visceral,
's energy and confidence makes
an exciting debut from one of the most vital-sounding British rock bands of the late 2010s. ~ Heather Phares