David Bowie.
The latest nextbigthing from Britain are Savages, and their much vaunted debut album, Silence Yourself has just hit the shelves. And they’re this close to being faintly ridiculous.
They’re a four piece all girl retro post punk combo, and they take themselves terribly seriously.
Perhaps it’s unfair to castigate them for that. All they’re doing is taking their cue from Roxy and Bowie and their attitude at the onset of the 70s.
If you don’t take yourself and what you do seriously how can you expect anyone else to? And not just the music. Everything.
The debut album from Savages.
But with Bowie and Roxy it was so much more colourful. And fun. Everything’s so black and white with Savages. A bit of rouge could really brighten them up. If it weren’t for the actual music, the whole thing would be ever so slightly risible.
Happily though, Silence Yourself really is an arresting album.
Lead singer Jehnny Beth is openly channelling Patti Smith via Siouxsie Sioux. But although they sound every bit as feral as the Banshees, it’s all produced in a much more planned and practiced way.
They are coming at it from the same place as Canadian noise maestros Metz, reviewed by me earlier here.
Roxy circa ’72
It might initially appear like a wall of industrial noise made up of layers of dissonant feedback, but it soon reveals itself as a carefully crafted and patiently practiced collection of meticulously structured songs.
Which will probably annoy some. Punk wasn’t supposed to be practiced. But all it really means is that Savages and Metz are much better at it than most of those who went before.
The boys from Pitchfork gave them an 8.7 here, and you can see them perform their single Husbands on the Jools Holland Show here.
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