Rating: NNNN
There’s something about “guitar music” that causes the British music press to lose control of its collective hyperbole reflex, bestowing “best new band in the UK” honours on any young scrappers with six strings, an amp and a worn-out copy of Is This It. But after breathlessly extolling leather-clad flameouts like Palma Violets and the Vaccines, they’ve finally found a band worthy of the hype: Savages.
The band has already built a mystique with their live show (frontwoman Jehnny Beth’s penetrating glare and righteous wail transfixed a packed Horseshoe Tavern at this year’s CMW), but Silence Yourself proves they’ve got the songs to back it up. Sure, most of their influences can be traced to around 1979 – the gothic post-punk of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the economical art-punk of Wire to name a couple – but every cymbal crash, feedback screech and bass rhythm is carefully composed into a swaggering, squalling style that’s utterly distinct.
Top track: She Will
