Songs of Praise is the debut studio album by the British post-punk band Shame, released via Dead Oceans in January 2018.

Critical reception

Songs of Praise was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 20 reviews.

Reviewing for The Times in January 2018, Will Hodgkinson said "this album has excitement and confidence fizzing out of every song, the spirit of punk-rock defiance given an energy shot for a new generation." Eve Barlow of Pitchfork proclaimed, "the UK rock group separates themselves from their peers, imbuing their post-adolescent rage with wit and, crucially, a self-effacing awareness that they may never succeed." In Mojo, Martin Aston called Songs of Praise an "incendiary debut" from a band who are "a visceral, frayed, clanging racket but still mindful of tunes".

Robert Christgau was lukewarm about the album and said, although Shame can "assemble a fast rock song—I see where the honorific 'punk' comes up in their reviews of praise, but this music just isn't intense enough to merit it—their affect is devoid of any species of uplift: humor, empathy, solidarity, lyrics with a twist, all that corny stuff I retain a yen for. Formally anthemic, spiritually not is another way to put it. True enough, this has turned into a white male mindset, affliction, what have you. Part of the problem not part of the solution. Might they lift themselves out of it sometime? Hope so."

Track listing

Personnel Shame Charlie Steen – lead vocals Sean Coyle-Smith – guitar; backing vocals Eddie Green – guitar; backing vocals Josh Finerty – bass guitar; backing vocals ; additional percussion Charlie Forbes – drums; backing vocals

Additional Performers

Holly Whitaker – backing vocals Dan Foat – programming, keyboards Nathan Boddy – programming, keyboards

Production

Dan Foat – production Nathan Boddy – production, mixing Sean Genockey – engineering Samir Alikhanizadeh – additional production Joe Jones – assistant engineer Paul Carr – assistant engineer Ric Baxendale – additional engineering Matt Colton – mastering

Artwork Holly Whitaker – photography Miles Johnson – design

Charts Chart (2018) Peak position

Accolades Publication Accolade Rank Piccadilly Records Top 100 Albums of 2018 Rough Trade Top 100 Albums of 2018 Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2018

References