Shame “Baldur’s Gate” (2021)

Shame "Baldur's Gate"

Dead Oceans
Buy:
Apple Music | Amazon MP3 | Amazon.uk MP3 | Amazon.de MP3 | Amazon.fr MP3

London post-punk band Shame has a solid history of excellent Christmas tunes, a legacy that they really jumped right into alongside their debut record. I covered their excellent version of “Feliz Navidad” back in 2018, and would still love to hear the holiday flexi for “Tinsel Gate,” sent with early preorders of their last record, Drunk Tank Pink. This year’s selection, “Baldur’s Gate,” isn’t a celebration of Christmas, but more a snapshot of a holiday past from frontman Charlie Steen… I’ll let him describe:

‘It’s another Christmas classic. It’s about a period of time in which I’d regularly be trekking up to the streets of Edinburgh to see an ex-partner. These are some of the thoughts I’d have when I’d be leaving Waverley station, en route back to London in the winter nights.’

The deeper the song goes, the more I’m into the groove they have created. Certainly not your standard holiday release… which is what this blog is kinda about. Enjoy!

Bottom Line: Shame is a killer band during all twelve months of the year, and “Baldur’s Gate” only reinforces this.

LISTEN

Shame “Feliz Navidad” (2018)

Shame - Feliz Navidad

Dead Oceans
Buy: Bandcamp

I did not wake up this morning hoping to hear autotune in a cover of this classic José Feliciano song, but dammit, I should have. London’s Shame have managed to inject this sometimes dusty old song with new spirit, bringing some of the background melodies into the fore and inexplicably incorporating autotune with excellent results. This is Dead Oceans’ second holiday release this season (and it is only OCTOBER!), following Khruangbin’s “Christmas Time is Here,” announced earlier this week. Simply said, keep it coming Dead Oceans!

Bottom Line: Shame shine up an old song to sound all sparkly and new.

LISTEN