New Album: Autonomy
Release Date: 10/28/22
Label: Self-Release
Buy/Stream Autonomy: https://secretshame.fanlink.to/autonomy
Autonomy Tracklisting:
1. Hide
2. Accelerate
3. Luxury Bitch
4. Glass Palace
5. Saccharine Dream
6. Pink Staircase
7. January
8. Persephone
9. Chaining Eris
10. Color Drain
11. Zero
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BIO
“These songs are about eating disorders, abuse, addiction, and mental illness — and this one is also about all of those things,” Lena tells the audience, usually speaking for the first time, before the final song in Secret Shame’s recent live sets. As the band toured through the spring and summer leading up to Autonomy’s announcement, at least one person at every show would ask when that last song (“Zero”) was coming out.
Secret Shame first took shape when bassist Matthew met vocalist Lena through mutual friends in summer of 2016. They released their self-titled EP the next year but mostly stuck to DIY shows in their hometown of Asheville, North Carolina. Nathan, who had released the band’s first EP, later joined on drums, and not long after, Aster joined on guitar.
Secret Shame’s 2019 debut full-length Dark Synthetics received widespread critical acclaim, with the single “Calm” being featured on The New York Times’ Playlist and the album landing on many 2019 best-of lists, including landing at #77 on Bandcamp Daily and #1 on Post-Punk.com. Following that momentum, they embarked on an East coast tour (which kicked off at Hopscotch) and recorded the split singles, “Dissolve”/“Pure,” with Aster now as the sole guitarist.
Secret Shame refuse to limit their sound to a single genre but instead pull from a wide range of influences including post-punk, deathrock, shoegaze, and dream-pop. Infectious guitar melodies and interlocking bass lines lead a narrative shaped by dynamic drums.
There is a sonic tension between rage and melancholy, the beautiful and the bleak, that finds resolution in the way the music reflects the mood of the lyrics. So too does the dynamic range of Lena’s distinct voice, with the subdued resonance of gentler songs like “Color Drain” beckoning the listener nearer, to her commanding presence in aggressive songs like “Chaining Eris,” to the manic desperation oscillating between moods in “Accelerate” and “Zero.”
Secret Shame headlined Dark Spring Boston in 2022 and has become a regular at Hopscotch Music Festival. Described by Analogue Trash as “one of the hidden gems of the current alternative music scene,” Secret Shame has spent much of 2022 touring extensively. Their energetic live performances capture the “rage trembling under the group’s chiming post-punk” (The New York Times). They have also opened for Xiu Xiu, Wednesday, Soft Kill, Choir Boy, and Vision Video.
Secret Shame recorded Autonomy at Asheville’s Drop of Sun (Wednesday, MJ Lenderman, Animal Collective) with engineer/producer Alex Farrar. Both musically and lyrically, the band reaches a new level of maturity in the album. On this diverse yet cohesive eleven song record, Lena’s previously-obscure lyrics now directly confront the realities of addiction, body dysmorphia, abuse, and mental illness.
The band is self-releasing their sophomore album Autonomy on October 28th before embarking on a month-long full US tour, sharing east coast dates with the goth-pop band Vision Video.
– Secret Shame, 2022
Secret Shame is…
Nathan (he/him – drums)
Lena (she/they – lead singer, synths, art)
Matthew (he/him – bass, synths, backing vox)
PRESS QUOTES
“There’s a rage trembling under the group’s chiming post-punk, which winds itself around an ultimatum about self-preservation: “Calm me down or I am going to burn.” – The New York Times
“Secret Shame fearlessly tackle sensitive subject matter many are afraid to broach. In the middle of their anthemic, reverb-bathed earworms stands Lena, baring her soul with raw abandon—warmly crooning or wailing her lungs out—and giving a much-needed voice to the struggle of the marginalized.” – Bandcamp Daily
“Their synth-splashed, atmospheric bangers suggest the sweaty dancefloor mania of New Order and the electropop goodness of the Chromatics. A ghostly ambiance hovers over Secret Shame’s sound world, one that lends David Lynchian vibes.” – Bandcamp Daily
“Secret Shame channel both the tragic beauty and spooky ambience of a graveyard.” – Paste Magazine
“…another masterful composition culled from the seven-song album’s guitar-driven melodies and fervent vocals, which cascade like rain down the face of a windowsill rattled by thunder.” – post-punk.com
“Drawing on deathrock, goth, and punk, the track captures the struggle to remain sane when those around you are in a rough mental state. There’s a murky allure to lead singer Lena’s voice, and though the guitars are nightmarish, their sharp melodics offer some stability to counteract the track’s rickety emotions.” – Paste Magazine
“Lena’s authoritative vocals explode from the dense mix, providing the beating heart at the center of the swirling post-punk maelstrom. Don’t be surprised if they end up on the bill next time The Cure curate a music festival.” – FLOOD Magazine
Listen to Secret Shame’s new album Autonomy here: https://secretshame.fanlink.to/autonomy
TOUR DATES
Tickets + more info on Secret Shame tour dates: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/15133981-secret-shame
11/08 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen #
11/09 – Detroit, MI – Smalls #
11/13 – Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows #
11/14 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery #
11/15 – Philadelphia, PA – PhilaMOCA #
11/16 – Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall #
11/17 – Charlotte, NC – Snug Harbor #
11/18 – Greenville, SC – The Velo Fellow #
11/21 – St. Louis, MO – Sinkhole
11/22 – Kansas City, MO – Mini Bar
11/23 – Omaha, NE – The Sydney
11/25 – Denver, CO – The Crypt
11/27 – Salt Lake City, UT – The DLC
11/29 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
11/30 – Seattle, WA – Funhouse
12/01 – Portland, OR – Coffin Club
12/02 – Oakland, CA – Elbo Room
12/03 – Los Angeles, CA – The Moroccan
12/05 – San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop
12/06 – Phoenix, AZ – Linger Longer Lounge
12/08 – El Paso, TX – The Living Room Lounge
12/09 – Austin, TX – Hole In The Wall
12/10 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
12/11 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa
12/12 – Birmingham, AL – Firehouse
# – w/ Vision Video
MUSIC
Buy/Stream/Watch “Zero” here: https://secretshame.fanlink.to/zero
Buy/Stream “Color Drain” here: https://secretshame.fanlink.to/colordrain
Buy/Stream “Luxury Bitch” here: https://secretshame.fanlink.to/luxurybitch
Buy/Stream “Hide” here: https://secretshame.fanlink.to/hide
Buy/Stream “Dissolve” here: https://sym.ffm.to/dissolve_secretshame
Buy/Stream Dark Synthetics: https://fanlink.to/DarkSynthetics
PHOTOS
