Savages: Silence Yourself

Ferocity in music is something to be relished. In this age of Mumford, when acts think they have to be over- bearingly meek, humble and modest in order to rule pop’s roost, the bold ones prepared to go to the edge and put some blood in the music are to be welcomed.

Savages will always stand out in any scenario. Even if this was one of those occasions when lots of other acts were making terse, intense, stark post- punk because it was the sound of the crowd, these Londoners would still poke you in the eye and ear. It’s manifested in the clear- headed, uncluttered, coldly emotional punch of their music, the dramatic energy which Jehnny Beth pulls from the shadows, and the sheer bravado of a contender for the last gang in town really walking it like they talk it.

On Silence Yourself, you're never left in any doubt that you're dealing with a group who are fully aware of what they're capable of doing. Each song zings like a bolt from a blue.

While the zeitgeist has occasionally swung the way of post-punk in recent years, few have approached its handbook with such gusto as Savages. Their quakesome basslines, archly sculpted guitarwork and squall of yelps and howls from Beth make for an album rich in spiky, fiercely passionate moments to savour.

Husbands is one such moment, a track that shrieks with a sense of the other, when the usual guideropes are abandoned in favour of a new kind of march. But you'll also find the measure of their considerable ambition on She Will, City's Full and the magnetic Shut Up. Raw power with idiosyncratic pop appeal.
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Download: Husbands, She Will, Shut Up, City's Full