When it comes to all girl rock bands I am instantly sceptical. They always seem to remind me of that scene in ’10 things I hate About You’ when Heath Ledger is trying to woo Julie Stiles in that grungy femminist punk club and then I get sad because Heath is dead, which is still super sad right? However, this post-punk quartet hailing from London Town couldn’t be further from the angsty 4 chord whining of yesteryears teen tearaways who found puberity way too hard. With debut ‘Silence Yourslef’, brace yourself for blistering bass, the syncopated repetition of searing guitar riffs and vocals akin to the acerbic sweet sex thrall of early Karen O. Had the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s procreated with Joy Division you would probably have gotten Savages then you probably would have gotten this record.
Throughout the album we have a constant of dirty guitars dripping with distortiion and delicious thrashing echoes of gigantic walls of sound. It’s eerie and intriguing and a refreshing departure from the hipster chique indie of bands like Haim though fantastic as they are doing nothing for the gusto of women in rock. Album opener ‘Shut Up’ opens with a sample from what could easily be a Hitchcock movie and then bursts into a sinsister bassline and killer riff that instantly pull on the puppet strings to get you dancing despite yourself. This song is set to be an indie club floor filling smash and is in good company with songs like ‘City’s Full’ and ‘Strife’
Track’s like ‘Waiting for a sign’ are cut through with the tortured soul of Pattie Smith without sounding like a cheap knock off. As ball busting as a majority of the tracks are that’s not to say these girls don’t know dynamics as it’s not all go. Though ‘Hit Me’ and ‘No Face’ are riddled with the kind of insanse no holds barred shredding that reminds one of The Bronx there are songs like ‘Marshall Dear’ that are driven by an understated piano and with it a creepy desolation. A vibe also felt on ‘Dead Nature’ with it’s graveyard macabre that features mid way through the album like a calming intermission.
This album could easily provide the soundtrack to a Tarantino Movie, especially ‘From Dusk Till’ Dawn’ with all it’s noisy vitriol and on the flip side it’s sleepy desert cool. Though this band were born of humble means from the ongoing procrastination to pick up their instruments and chose a name they are set to be huge in 2013 especially during festival season. If this band can be summed up into one word it would probably be Savage, and I mean that in the most complimentary and best possible way!
