Album Review: Savages – “Adore Life”

By: Tyler Nyquvest –

The sloping landscape of post-punk revival is certainly tough ground to trek. While the past decade has seen a handful of new rock revolutionaries break through the overly constructed music mold, groups of this genre have largely disbanded, seeking innovation and reformation to sustain their music careers.

London-based band Savages are back to take their second leap at the post-punk hurdle with their new album Adore Life. Adopting a slightly softer sound than its predecessor Silence Yourself, the new album is the duller blade in the Savages knife block. That it so say, it can still cut, just with a milder slice. Adore Life is a pouty, gothic melodrama that resounds with that authentic garage feeling that is ever so rare today.

Lead vocalist Jehnny Beth shapes the group’s sound with her brazen, frosty voice that somewhat resembles Annie Clark of St. Vincent, just a little more jagged and a little more wicked. Lyrically, Adore Life sounds restless and passionately enraged, swinging through striking fits then slowing into dramatic lows.

The ten-track album launches off with “The Answer” but is followed by the more punchy and memorable “Evil.” Raw and rebellious, “Evil” features some inspiringly skillful performances from bass player Ayse Hassan and guitarist Gemma Thompson. All elements pair to make a hauntingly melancholic and unruly song all listeners can enjoy.

“Sad Person” is irresistibly standoffish and cool. Beth’s pompous execution is wonderfully self-righteous and smug while the instrumentals are expertly complimentary. Fay Milton’s breakneck percussion, the theatrical strums from Thompson and the haughty vocals of Jehnny make this one of the stand out tracks of the album.

Finally, “I Need Something New” is the aggressive, adrenaline-fueled riot that more closely aligns to the garage-punk-rock this group is known for. The track is rousingly commanding yet irritably morose. Like the album itself, the song sweeps devastatingly low then rebounds to a fiery high that induces a superb madness product of effective punk.

There is something to be said for bands that stay in the post-punk ring. It is unquestionably tough to maintain relevance when your audience is skewed. Ironically, the title of the album preaches a love for life amidst a genre that is; forgive me, fighting against death. However this struggle is what keeps post-punk so admirably engaging. To fight, to riot, and to rebel is to be punk. The girls of Savages are badass, and Adore Life fights till the last track. The album may not be for everybody but in true punk fashion, Savages are defiant till the end.

Essential Tracks: “Evil,” “Sad Person, “I Need Something New”