The return of Savages (part 2)

Savages

I wrote about Savages’ forthcoming album Adore Life back in October.

Ahead of the release of their second album, the band have released a new track from the album. The press release aptly describes new track ‘Adore’, as haunting. According to the band the song is inspired by the life of American poet Minnie Bruce Pratt. The video was directed by Anders Malmberg (who has previously worked with Mew and Mø), with Lighting & Concept Design by Tobias Rylander (The XX, Lykke Li, FKA Twigs).

Revealed back in November (somehow missed by yours truly, but I’m going to try and rectify that now) is ‘T.I.W.Y.G’ (This Is What You Get). It reveals a different side to the band from that displayed on ‘Adore.’

The return of Savages

Savages

Savages have announced that they will release their sophomore album Adore Life on January 22, 2016. It’s the long-awaited follow up to their debut Silence Yourself which was released in 2013.

Released on Matador, the tracklisting for the album is as follows:

1. The Answer
2. Evil
3. Sad Person
4. Adore
5. I Need Something New
6. Slowing Down The World
7. When In Love
8. Surrender
9. T.I.W.Y.G.
10. Mechanics

The first track to be heard from the album is ‘Adore,’ the video for which can be seen below:

Album Review: Savages

savages-silence-yourself

Savages -‘Silence Yourself’ (Pop Noire/Matador)

Bloody hell.

The hotly anticipated debut from Savages does not disappoint. Not one iota.

‘Sounds like a bloody racket!’ quipped one of my colleagues as the pre-release album stream thundered out of the computer speakers at work.

Yes. It is a bloody racket. It’s dark, powerful, uncompromising music -and all the better for it. It’s menacing. Drenched in feedback. It does not care what you think. The promise that was hinted at on last year’s ‘Husbands’/’Flying To Berlin’ debut single is here in spades.

This is an album to be played loud. This is an album that some won’t be able to handle. This is an album that follows in the footsteps of a heritage of bands like The Slits, The Raincoats, Throwing Muses and Sleater-Kinney, amongst others, whilst not necessarily sounding all that much like any of those bands.

Bugger believing the hype. Savages are here in your face, and taking no prisoners.

Are you up for the ride?

****1/2

Silence Yourself is released on Pop Noire/Matador on May 6.

Ahead of the album release, the album can be streamed over at the band’s website.

Presenting…Savages

savages-007

I’ve been enjoying Savages’ rather fine debut single from last year ‘Flying To Berlin’/’Husbands’ for quite some time so it was rather a shock to discover that I hadn’t actually written about the band yet.

So, I can take no credit for discovering them, and am probably not so much a bandwagon-jumper as a johnny-come-lately. I mean, they played their first gig as long ago as January 2012!

…actually, that’s pretty recent when you think about it, isn’t it? And The Guardian wrote about them last year that Jehnny Beth (vocals), Ayse Hassan (bass), Fay Milton (drums) and Gemma Thompson (guitar) might actually be the first guitar band in ages worth caring about.

They evoke the best of post-punk scene of the last seventies and early eighties – but they sound fresh and vital. And when so much guitar music often just seems like a stake rehash, that’s a very good thing. Comparisons have been drawn with Siouxise and the Banshees and the Slits, neither of which I would disagree with, though to these ears the band they most remind me of is The Au Pairs. With a nod to the Raincoats.

This is the b-side of the debut single from last year:

The band are now signed to Matador and their debut album Silence Yourself will be released on May 6. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Shut Up
2. I Am Here
3. City’s Full
4. Strife
5. Waiting For A Sign
6. Dead Nature
7. She Will
8. No Face
9. Hit Me
10. Husbands
11. Marshal Dear

‘She Will’ is available digitally now, check it out below:

The Blog Sound of 2013

blog-sound-of-2013

A few months back, I was asked to nominate my tips for bands and artists to make it big in 2013.

Along with 48 other bloggers, the results were collated and the end results are:

1st Haim

2nd Chvrches

3rd= Savages

3rd= Pins

5th The Neighbourhood

It’s taken until this point in the evening for me to blog about this (can’t access the blog from my desk at work), so you may have seen this everywhere else over the blog. But this is what you need to know:

‘The Blog Sound poll was run by Robin Seamer from Breaking More Waves and Andy Von Pip from The Von Pip Express asking 49 UK music bloggers what emerging acts they were particularly excited about. The poll wasn’t intended to criticise the BBC’s Sound of list, but to simply represent the tastes of the voting bloggers.

The 2013 Blog Sound long list contained 7 acts that were also then revealed to be on the BBC Sound of List (AlunaGeorge, Chvrches, Haim, Laura Mvula, Palma Violets, Savages and Tom Odell) and 8 that weren’t (Curxes, Daughter, Mo, Pins, Randolph’s Leap, Rhye, Seasfire and The Neighbourhood).

In total just over 170 acts received at least 1 vote in the poll, but Haim and Chvrches were way ahead of the chasing pack when it came to the final count. Pins and Savages, tied for third place with The Neighbourhood, the second US act on the list after Haim in fifth.

Of the five most voted for acts all of them are bands and four of them have lead female vocalists. Two of the bands (Haim and The Neighbourhood) are from the US.

The winners Haim have been one of the most talked about bands of the last few months and were the second most blogged act by UK Hype Machine listed bloggers in 2012. Haim consist of three sisters from California and were originally in a band with their parents called Rockinhaim. They signed a record deal earlier in 2012 and will release their debut album in 2013. Their sound fuses elements of classic rock, r ‘n’ b and pop and they have been compared with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, TLC and Wilson Phillips.’

Of the five acts, Chvrches are the one I am most familiar with. I quite like Haim – I’ve always been upfront about my love of Fleetwood Mac, and the two tracks I have heard are pretty good. Savages produced a great single last year in ‘Husbands’ which reminds me of The Au Pairs, The Raincoats and The Slits (perhaps slightly less on the last one). Pins and the Neighbourhood I wasn’t aware of, so I can’t comment too much on them, as I would be doing so on the basis of one track apiece! They sound fine to me.

It was great to be asked to take part again, and the best of luck to the acts concerned.

The other blogs involved were:

A New Band A Day, A Pocket Full Of Seeds, All Noise, Alphabet Bands, Both Bars On, Brapscallions, Breaking More Waves, Brighton Music Blog, Details Of My Life So Far, Don’t Watch Me Dancing, Dots And Dashes, Drunken Werewolf, Eaten By Monsters, Electronic Rumors, Faded Glamour, Folly Of Youth, Flying With Anna, God Is In The TV, Harder Blogger Faster, Howl, In Love Not Limbo, Just Music That I Like, Killing Moon, Kowalskiy, Love Music : Love Life, Mudkiss, Music Broke My Bones, Music Fans Mic, Music Liberation, Music Like Dirt, My Bands Better Than Your Band, Not Many Experts, Peenko, Real Horrorshow, Scottish Fiction, Skeletory, Song By Toad, Sounds Good To Me Too, Storm’s Brewing, Sweeping The Nation, The Blue Walrus, The Electricity Club, The Mad Mackerel, The Metaphorical Boat, The Music Hoarder, The Recommender, This Must Be Pop, and Von Pip Musical Express.