So maybe Savages’ aesthetic and ideology aren’t quite so radical or iconoclastic as advertised, but there is an uncommon intensity to Silence Yourself that makes it feel vital and novel nonetheless - if anything, it speaks volumes about Savages’ songwriting chops and high level of execution that they’re even mentioned in the same breath as the groundbreaking bands they’re being compared to already.Ĭase in point: The previously released tracks re-recorded for Silence Yourself don’t just remind you of why Savages received so much notice and praise in the first place, but live on in the present tense by sounding just as imposing and intense as they did when they made their striking first impressions. But the in-your-face declarations Savages make on Silence Yourself are never just expressions of youthful hubris: Silence Yourself calls out for you to take Savages and their work seriously because they do, demanding active engagement from you and rewarding you for it. It’s probably no coincidence, then, that Silence Yourself leads off with the punkish stare-down “Shut Up”, on which frontwoman Jehnny Beth mockingly dares, “Did you tell me to shut up?,” with a cocked brow intonation that quiets the haters by implying she won’t be silencing herself. Once you consider that quote and understand the phrase Silence Yourself as a prompt to listeners to pay close attention to what Savages have to say and how they express themselves, then the title makes a lot more sense as a command, as an order. In short, Savages are all about not silencing yourself - as Savages themselves proclaim, “This album is meant to be played loud and in the foreground.” Even if they don’t fully identify with the feminist tag often attributed to them and apparently bristle at gender-specific comparisons, it’s still fitting to contextualize Savages, sonically and thematically, according to a tradition of bands that didn’t mind making the personal political and vice versa, their approach harkening back to the socially-minded abrasion of the Slits and the Raincoats, the bombast of riot grrrl acts, and the boundary defying proficiency of Sleater-Kinney. Indeed, Savages got on the radar by backing up its own brand of next-wave don’t-call-it-feminist rock with an attitude that’s just as loud and brash as their music. There’s some cognitive dissonance in Savages naming their much anticipated debut Silence Yourself, because there’s absolutely nothing quiet or demure about the buzzed-about UK act and its unblinking neo-post-punk.
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