A track out today from Portland-based quartet Glass Rabbit, “Damn Shame” develops with delectably moody intrigue into fervent guitar-embracing expanses. The first single leading toward the band’s mid-2027 album Water Sleep Machines, it marks a new chapter following their 2024 demo, recorded at Portland’s Singing Sands studio.
A gorgeously moody rocker fit for late-night contemplation, “Damn Shame” ventures with momentum-filled mystique. Twinkling keys and rumbling bass pair with a gradually increasing guitar presence, building from jangly lushness to more blaring ardor. Becky Phillips’ lead presence emerges with hypnotic allure, with the “it’s a damn shame…” sequence building wonderfully to a re-emergence of the heavier guitar work. The sporadic placements of glistening keys combine with the consistent rhythm section to maintain a blissful sense, while the phrasing’s “I am a rabbit in a hole” description continues the forlorn sense of displacement.
A striking melodic shift takes hold around the track’s midpoint, where an escalated “damn shame” delivery infuses alongside intensified guitar work and more hectic percussion. The four-minute mark places particular emphasis on the atmospheric, nocturnal lure of the guitar work, while Phillips’ tone then moves throughout a final minute with a balance of anguish and charisma. Twanging guitar layers adorn the outro as rhythms and lead presence become absent, concluding the excellent “Damn Shame” with satiating entrancement from Glass Rabbit.
Check out the song on Spotify.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
