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Songs of Praise
Studio album by Shame
Released	12 January 2018
Recorded	April 2017
Studio	Rockfield Studios
Genre	Post-punk indie rock
Length	38:29
Label	Dead Oceans
Producer	Dan Foat Nathan Boddy
Shame chronology
Live Sermons (2018) Songs of Praise (2018) Drunk Tank Pink (2021)
Singles from Songs of Praise
"Concrete" Released: 20 September 2017 "One Rizla" Released: 15 November 2017 "Lampoon" Released: 27 February 2018

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

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.9/10
Metacritic	83/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Financial Times
The Guardian
Mojo
NME
Pitchfork	7.5/10
Q
Record Collector
The Times
Uncut	8/10

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

All tracks are written by Shame

Personnel

Shame

• Charlie Steen – lead vocals
• Sean Coyle-Smith – guitar; backing vocals (track 2)
• Eddie Green – guitar; backing vocals (track 2)
• Josh Finerty – bass guitar; backing vocals (all tracks except 1); additional percussion (track 10)
• Charlie Forbes – drums; backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 7-9)

Additional Performers

• Holly Whitaker – backing vocals (track 10)
• Dan Foat – programming, keyboards
• Nathan Boddy – programming, keyboards

Production

• Dan Foat – production
• Nathan Boddy – production, mixing
• Sean Genockey – engineering
• Samir Alikhanizadeh – additional production (track 1)
• Joe Jones – assistant engineer
• Paul Carr – assistant engineer
• Ric Baxendale – additional engineering (tracks 1, 8, 10)
• Matt Colton – mastering

Artwork

• Holly Whitaker – photography
• Miles Johnson – design

Charts

Accolades

References

1. Desler, Madison (8 January 2018). "Shame: Songs of Praise Review". Paste. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
2. ^ "Songs Of Praise by Shame reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
3. "Songs of Praise by Shame on Apple Music". iTunes. 12 January 2018.
4. ^ "Songs of Praise by Shame Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
5. Phares, Heather. "Songs of Praise – Shame". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
6. Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (19 January 2018). "Shame: Songs of Praise — 'authentic punk-like approach'". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
7. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (11 January 2018). "Shame: Songs of Praise review – seething sarky passion and anthemic pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
8. ^ Aston, Martin (12 January 2018). "Shame – Songs of Praise". Mojo. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
9. Bassett, Jordan (9 January 2018). "Shame – 'Songs Of Praise' Album Review". NME. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
10. ^ Barlow, Eve (17 January 2018). "Shame: Songs of Praise". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
11. Perry, Andrew (February 2018). "There's a Riot Goin' On". Q (381): 113.
12. Peacock, Tim (January 2018). "Shame – Songs Of Praise". Record Collector (475). Retrieved 13 January 2019.
13. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (12 January 2018). "Pop: Shame: Songs of Praise". The Times. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
14. Wray, Daniel Dylan (February 2018). "Shame: Songs of Praise". Uncut (249): 32.
15. Christgau, Robert (9 July 2019). "Xgau Sez". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
16. "Ultratop.be – Shame – Songs of Praise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
17. "Ultratop.be – Shame – Songs of Praise" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
18. "Lescharts.com – Shame – Songs of Praise". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Shame – Songs of Praise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
22. "Piccadilly Records". Piccadillyrecords.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
23. "Rough Trade's Album of the Year". Roughtrade.com. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
24. "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". Paste. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.

• 2018 debut albums
• Shame (band) albums
• Dead Oceans albums