Equal measures ferocious and vulnerable, Way Shit’s second album finds the local garage-punk trio building on the sound they introduced to us on their 2019 debut album This Isn't Working But I Don't Know How To Fix It, as they continue to scrutinise oppressive systems such as capitalism and the patriarchy from a place of real honesty. Across these eight tracks, Way Shit take these big issues and boil them down through stories of the effects that these have on the individual, and despite the heavy themes, what truly shines is the sense of solidarity between the three bandmates; Shelley Smith (vocals/guitar), Michael Voulgarellis (bass) and Kevin Baker (drums).

With its ramshackle distortion of guitars, opening track ‘Declined’ turbocharges the album and Shelley quickly takes the limelight, as she half-snarls/half-wails the refrain “I went to my therapist, I’m coping”. However, the kicker comes as she elaborates that she was “coping 'til this week”, acknowledging the irony of the often inaccessible and unaffordable mental health system for those who need it most. With a clear aim of picking apart the systems that don’t work within Australian society, there’s a sense of catharsis that rings through Way Shit’s music that also allows listeners to feel like they’re not alone, and this continues on with ‘Saving Face’. With its thumping backbeat, propulsive basslines and searing vocals, this track plays as an anthem for the disillusioned and forgotten people, a classic ‘stick it to the man’ song in the best possible way.

‘Empty Houses’ slows things down a bit, but doesn’t lose the quintessential well-placed angst. With its fingerpicked guitar and steady drumbeat, there’s an exhausted feeling in the song, like a reflective moment on a tram ride home from a protest where you wonder whether anything that you’ve been yelling about will actually change. Like much of Way Shit’s music, this song attacks the capitalist system and those who benefit from it, these inherent flaws being pointed out as Shelley sings “I know there’s more empty houses than people who need them” amidst the track’s ebb and flow. However, rather than simply ranting about the atrocities, Way Shit’s take offers a personal lens, showing the disastrous impact that this system has had on many struggling individuals.

The exhaustion and despair continues on ‘Murder’. At first, the track finds Way Shit at their most contemplative, as the dynamic strumming of the guitar amplifies the emotion of the song, before a well timed hit of the cymbals signals an explosive shift from introspective to the bigger picture. A song about domestic violence, this track finds Shelley at her most fiery, as she sings about attending a candlelight vigil and the very real concern for safety on her way home. It’s easy to feel lost and paralysed by the enormity of the issue, and ‘Murder’ wrangles these emotions into a rallying call for change.

Next along, ‘Always In The Way’ jangles and meanders its way along as the intensity grows, instilling an overwhelming and evocative feeling that gets to the core of what living with a long-term mental or physical illness is like, in terms of feeling useless and like a burden. Following on from the themes explored on ‘Always In The Way’, ‘Dive’ hits with a 90’s alternative-rock sound, as it deals with growing up and the internal conflict about wanting to keep partying despite what this might mean for your wellbeing.

‘Nowhere To Go’ captures Way Shit at their most tender, a track that speaks to the loss of culture that comes with losing live music venues. Written pre-COVID, it is as relevant as ever with each lockdown, meaning that these small live music venues are “barely holding on”. With live music being so essential to many people’s wellbeing, it’s easy to feel how much it means to Shelley as she sings with such passion and conviction. Finally, album closer ‘Someone, Something’ packages up all the angst and tender moments from the previous tracks, and rounds out the record as a largely instrumental track that leaves plenty of space for it all to soak in.

To get a better understanding of the meaning and stories behind the songs, Way Shit have walked us through each monent on Shame.


Way Shit: We recorded this album at Love Shack Studios in Footscray with Jessicca Bennett and Rachel Sztanski. We love recording at Love Shack because Jess and Rachel just make it so easy and make you feel welcomed and supported. We played a lot of darts, recorded song parts over and over and also did a lot of sitting around. Shelley recorded most of the vocals while Kevin ducked out to get burgers.

Declined

We wanted to create a short fast punk song that had no down moments, that didn’t stop until it did, a minute and a half later. This song is about how shit capitalism is, how bad the mental health system is and employment in our country. Michael and Shelley wrote the lyrics to this song in the time it took Kevin to go inside and grab a beer. Michael shouted out ideas and Shelley formed them into actual words. Thankfully Kevin wrote the rest: the guitar, bass and drum parts. The beer was delicious.

Saving Face

This song started with a bassline and Michael was inspired by a fight he had with his step uncle at Christmas. The points his uncle was trying to make were wrong but he’s just the kind of guy that needs to be right and have his voice heard. It is also about having to swallow your pride and be the bigger person even though you’d rather die. When we were writing this song we referred to it as “Goths on the Beach” because that’s how it sounded to us.

Empty Houses

We almost titled this song, “It’s not communism, per se”. I don’t know what to tell you other than capitalism is shit. We spent half an hour trying to work the term “Franking Credits” and other financial terms we didn’t fully understand into this song before considerably streamlining it. At its core it’s about not pulling up the ladder behind you when you get into a more financially secure position, and bringing understanding. We did something we don’t usually do and wrote a bridge, pretty experimental. We thought this would be an angrier song but by the time we finished writing it we were less angry and more just exasperated and sad. Don’t talk to Michael about the bass in the verse because he’s very self conscious about it.

Murder

Shelley wrote this song after yet another spate of domestic violence related murders. It shows the frustration of having to sit through another day again and again and again and feeling how seemingly little the lives of Women, Trans people and People of Colour, particularly those with these intersecting identities, matter to the broader consciousness. Even when you’re trying to show support for victims you still have to fear for your own safety. Murder is the sister song to ‘Don’t Stab Me’ from our first album, it’s a more sophisticated take, it’s looking more at the bigger picture, like this is where the behaviour in ‘Don’t Stab Me’ leads. Shelley came to the band with chords and the lyrics. We felt that the message was so strong and important that we left the song intentionally to be mostly guitar and vocals until it got to the point where all there was was anger and frustration and we needed to get the words out. You can have the conversation as many times as you want and you can post on social media and the people who need to listen aren’t listening, the people who need to learn aren’t learning so all you can do is explode. 

Always in the Way

This is Way Shit at our most moody. We definitely wanted to bring a suspenseful and dark tone to this one. Instrumentally sparse, it leaves room for the lyrics to cut through. It brings several themes to sharp focus: chronic ill health both mentally and physically, what it’s like to grow up in a religious household which is not only not accepting but violently opposed to you being gay. And how even twenty years later there are still people who will shout those opinions at you. We wrote this song in Kevin’s old lounge room because the power in the shed was out. The more intimate atmosphere definitely contributed to the mood.

Dive

This is Kevin's song. We told Kevin he had to write some lyrics and the first intro verse is his doing. He also wrote the majority of the bass and guitar parts, as well as the drums, that’s why it sounds so good. We discussed doing songs in a different timing than 4/4 but Michael and Shelley couldn’t wrap their heads around it. It’s about getting sick of partying but also still going through the motions because there’s a part of you that desperately needs it and you think you might miss out on something, but you always regret it come morning. It’s got a reverby jangle-y intro. The idea is the intro is mature but the rest of the song turns into a party song. The lyrics are carrying the idea of feeling sick of the party and sort of pent up and wistful, while the music has that classic pump up party song texture. The intro is seeing the reality of what it is. The intro is the morning when you wake up and the rest of the song is how you feel when you're at the party. Another classic no bridge song. 

Nowhere to Go

Shelley wrote the guitar part to this song and Michael went and looked back at some old lyrics that might fit and we reworked them and fleshed them out together. It’s the softest song on the album, a love letter to the Rev and all it represented. In the last few months of the Rev we played there countless times and a poster with our name on it was left out the front for over a year after it closed. We formed so many important relationships there and we were given a space to grow. It was really nice having a space that was so close to where we lived, so many music venues in the west are closing down. It was one of the last songs we wrote before recording. This was the hardest song to record but it really shouldn’t have been. It also features no bridge or chorus.

Someone, Something

Michael uses all four strings in the bassline and he’s really proud of it. We love how the energy builds so quickly and falls away just as fast. Kevin wrote a really beautiful ending guitar part which was perfect for ending the album, and ending our live sets, and has ended our live sets since we wrote it. It was the first song we wrote for this album and part of it was already written before we recorded our first album. Uncharacteristically this song doesn’t have very many lyrics.