IN REVIEW: Savages - "Adore Life"

Silence Yourself was going to be a tough act to follow. Released to universal acclaim in 2013, Savages' debut record solidified the foursome's status as Next Big Things, their pummeling and raw post-punk striking an unmistakable chord with critics and fans alike. So, like countless Next Big Things before them, Savages come into their second album with the added weight of expectation and the ever-present drone of anticipation.

Not that we're owed anything, but those expecting Adore Life to be simply more of the stuff that everyone loved a few years ago have set themselves up for at least a partial disappointment. The frenetic rawness of the debut gives way to a more assured, calculated performance. The songs here won't shake you by the shoulders the same way Silence Yourself did, but it's due more to an increase in confidence and musicianship than a decrease in intensity. To be sure, this is a quieter affair, but it's also more varied emotionally.

Lead single The Answer addresses all of this in three and a half minutes; its skittering, percussive backbone is flanked by a buoyant riff by guitarist Gemma Thompson and an assured vocal by Jehnny Beth. Truly, Beth's development as a vocalist is the most obvious change on Adore Life. Her performance on this record shows a much greater range than we've heard up to this point and, while it won't position her at the foreground of female voices in rock, it surely lays the groundwork for further advancements.

There's perhaps no greater example of the group's progression than quasi-title track Adore; a nuanced dirge with guttural undertones and an urgent crescendo, it works equally as a cathartic rock song and as a mission statement. Its lyrics acknowledge the unpredictability of mortality as a way to reaffirm life itself, with Beth bellowing "I adore life / do you adore life?" as the music rises in intensity around her. It's the biggest payoff on the record, and one of the furthest departures from the sound of Silence Yourself.

Elsewhere, there are hints of melodic breakthroughs waiting to happen, and yet this is certainly not a bid at stardom. There are sinister, groove-laden passages that can be chalked up to the influence of Swans, who Savages have shared the stage with numerous times. Take the entrancing groove of Slowing Down the World, or the more feral and abstract I Need Something New. Then, there's the demented bottom-heavy disco of Surrender, an unnerving blast of pop that will probably garner as much confusion as praise.

If you're reading all this and are concerned that the fury is all gone, see T.I.W.Y.G.; this one brings the supercharged Blondie thunder, with its breakneck pace and elastic guitar (and, I'm pretty sure I heard a police whistle in there?!). It slows down a little for the bridge, but builds up an impressive wall of noise as the song hurdles toward its conclusion.

All told, Adore Life may not be quite as consistent or engaging as Silence Yourself, and there are a few tracks that fail to grab the listener's attention in the way that the debut record did. Still, it's improvement through evolution, a band picking away at the scabs of its established sound and looking for fresh blood underneath. That may not thrill you as much as the first time you heard them, but it sets up intriguing possibilities for what comes next. It also reveals Savages as a band not content to simply ride the blog hype into a quick, in-and-out career arc, but rather a restless group of artists looking to push themselves further regardless of whose feelings get hurt along the way.

January 22, 2016 • Matador

Highlights The Answer • Adore • T.I.W.Y.G.