Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
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  1. 100
    This is massive leap on from ‘Songs Of Praise’ – ‘Drunk Tank Pink’ is more ambitious and more accomplished than its predecessor, showcasing a band brimming both with ideas and the confidence to pull them off. ... ‘Drunk Tank Pink’ confirms Shame’s status as one of the most exciting bands at the forefront of British music.
  2. Jan 14, 2021
    90
    In spite of all that’s going on, the ground that Shame manage to cover, it all hangs together brilliantly. Drunk Tank Pink is a great album, from whatever angle you look at it.
  3. Jan 15, 2021
    83
    Drunk Tank Pink is a beautiful demonstration of how musical rebellion and fury need not be explicitly lyrically tied to the current moment to speak directly to those living through it.
  4. Jan 25, 2021
    80
    Drunk Tank Pink is a record that emphasizes something that's become even rarer than a rock star: a legitimately exciting band.
  5. Jan 19, 2021
    80
    It’s not one for complacent listening as they are quick to pull the carpet from under you. Songs have a tendency to morph into storms. It’s turbulent, but also exhilarating. You can not help but feel rejuvenated after listening to it. With this record there’s certainly a good time to be had.
  6. Jan 19, 2021
    80
    Shame could've settled when, instead, they've outsmarted their post-punk contemporaries with their apolitical, yet powerfully-charged message about sticking it to the doldrums.
  7. 80
    Drunk Tank Pink offers a new sense of space, of notes ricocheting off walls. Green and Coyle-Smith clearly enjoyed experimenting with unconventional guitar tunings, playing energised ping pong with the tangy twists of key.
  8. Jan 15, 2021
    80
    Shame sounds unstoppable on Drunk Tank Pink, yet they also find new ways to channel that energy.
  9. Jan 14, 2021
    80
    Shame’s style clearly display influences from classic post-punk bands like The Fall and Wire on Drunk Tank Pink, while carving their own path in this unknown spastic present while leaning towards an uncertain bleak future.
  10. Jan 14, 2021
    80
    The back and forth between playful, pogo-friendly post-punk (“March Day,” “Great Dog”) and more sober and sonically adventurous indie/noise-rock (“Human, for a Minute,” “6/1”) carries Drunk Tank Pink forward with a sense of abandon, while also taking a reflective look back at the carnage such abandon has wrought.
  11. Jan 14, 2021
    80
    The latter half of the record segues together without pausing to come up for air - and you can bet your bottom dollar that once ‘all this’ has blown over and live music returns, these tracks will come into their own. Until then, crank up the volume and stomp around your prison cell.
  12. Mojo
    Jan 11, 2021
    80
    Drunk Tank Pink is the sound of a band pushing themselves to discover new sonic and emotional terrain. [Feb 2021, p.82]
  13. Uncut
    Jan 11, 2021
    80
    Drunk Tank Pink triumphs. No less do-or-die in their commitment, these songs are less determinedly dense. [Feb 2021, p.35]
  14. Jan 11, 2021
    80
    Each track feels like its own ecosystem, tackling its own demons and fighting with its own musical journey. It’s certainly an album created with plenty of thought and various concepts tackled within its 40-odd minutes, leaving a sweet aftertaste, and the urge for an immediate re-listen.
  15. Jan 14, 2021
    78
    For the most part, you also won’t find the simplistic catchiness of their debut, but that’s not the point of their second LP. Shame are in a different, increasingly dejected headspace, and they poured their anxieties into a more considered album. Drunk Tank Pink is more varied in pace and inspiration.
  16. Jan 15, 2021
    76
    The band reach peak drama on “Station Wagon”—an ambitious number that might have overwhelmed their tastes for unadorned punk just a few years ago. ... “Station Wagon” encapsulates the band’s development as songwriters, shouting back at the bombast of youth and the perilous chore of moving beyond it.
  17. Rolling Stone
    Feb 2, 2021
    70
    Drunk Tank Pink really takes off when the assault gives way to a groove, a la art-funk gods ESG or Liquid Liquid. [Feb 2021, p.73]
  18. Jan 15, 2021
    70
    There isn’t as fine a crystallization of what they’re capable of as the momentum build in the first two minutes of Songs of Praise’s “Concrete,” but overall Drunk Tank Pink is more consistent, more reassuring of Shame’s future.
  19. Jan 15, 2021
    70
    At best, this sophomore project suggests a band pushing itself in every direction and through every crevice of the genre to see what fits them and their messaging most effectively.
  20. Jan 11, 2021
    70
    While the constant need for creative freedom and instrumental variety means that Drunk Tank Pink begins to meander towards the record's back end, a handful of sprawling epics showcase Shame's enviable talent for vivid storytelling.
  21. Jan 14, 2021
    60
    Drunk Tank Pink is best when it shifts towards something more soft-focused.
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 43
  2. Negative: 1 out of 43
  1. Jan 20, 2021
    6
    Potential is clear but sound doesn't quite connect with me. Born in Luton and Station Wagon were the real standouts to me.
  2. Sep 23, 2021
    7
    Shame - Drunk Tank Pink - 7.16
    My first time listening to this band.
    Favorites: Alphabet, Nigel Hitter, 6/1
  3. Mar 4, 2021
    5
    Beating the sophomore jinx by the skin of their teeth, hard stylistic turns and experimentation sound more like exit strategies of deliveringBeating the sophomore jinx by the skin of their teeth, hard stylistic turns and experimentation sound more like exit strategies of delivering the impossible: an album as good as their debut, Songs Of Praise. The songs sound thrown together and improvised — even ace producer James Ford can't stop nearly every one that's stars with a sizzle from ending with a fizzle. ("Alphabet", "Born In Luton") Full Review »