"Concrete" is a song by British punk rock band,

Shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

. The song is the first promotional single off of their debut studio album, ''

Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns sung in churches of varying denominations from around the UK. The series was first broadcast in October 1961. On that occasion, the venue was the Ta ...

''. The single was released on 20 September 2017 through

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group, which also ...

Background

In an interview with

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, lead singer, Charlie Steen, described that track as a

flâneur () is a French noun referring to a person, literally meaning "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer", but with some nuanced additional meanings (including as a loanword into English). is the act of strolling, with all of its acco ...

's perspective on the psychological and emotionally draining effects of a doomed relationship". Steen further described the track as "a moment where all of the worries and thoughts one might feel within this entrapment are isolated and embraced – a moment where the futility of reasoning is accepted." The song features a call-and-response set of vocals between lead singer Steen and bassist Josh Finerty. Per an interview with NPR, the idea of that was to represent the trapping feeling of being in a relationship that almost feels like you're talking with yourself. The song went through several renditions as the band formed before the entire band contributed to the vocals at the ending of the track. Per Steen this gave the song a "schoolboy-choir ound vaguely angelic finale that we were looking for."

Critical reception

Writing for

(NPR), Bob Boilen called "Concrete" a passionate song with "call-and-response stuttered guitars". Boilen compared the track to fellow British

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band,

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

. Boilen however said that Shame's music, and the song Concrete specifically feel "vital" with "19-year-old harlieSteen and bassist Josh Finerty screaming at each other, revealing the inner dialog of the song's main character". In a separate NPR review of the track, Lars Gotrich described a song that lurches like a vampire bat and kicks grinning teeth. Cady Siregar, writing for

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

compared their song to post-punk band,

Fat White Family Fat White Family are an English rock band, formed in 2011 in Peckham, South London. History The band, fronted by Southampton-born and Cookstown-raised Lias Kaci Saoudi, formed in 2011. Lead guitarist Saul Adamczewski was previously the frontman ...

, describing the song as "highly politicised songwriting and their merry-go-round of raucous hedonism on and off stage has perhaps inevitably drawn comparisons with Fat White Family - and Shame are part of the south London scene that spawned Fat Whites. But they have also helped revive the good old ‘Is guitar music dead?’ debate; Shame are, undeniably and perhaps frustratingly, all white men and that tired old debate seems only to include bands of white men." John Norris, writing for ''Billboard'' praised the track for its exhilarating sound, and compared the track to

Parquet Courts Parquet Courts is an American rock band from New York City. The band consists of Andrew Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Sean Yeaton (bass, vocals), and Max Savage (drums). History Band members Andrew Savage a ...

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

, and Gang of Four. Norris said that the song has a "witty, melodic, fiery and addictive vibe".

Music video

A corresponding music video was released on 20 September 2017, the same day as the single's release. The music video is a fourth wall breakdown between friction and reality. It features Steen walking on a treadmill before joining his bandmates.

References

External links

* {{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Shame (band) songs Dead Oceans singles