For those unfamiliar with the name, Savages is a four-member, all-female band based in London, UK. A quartet of women inspired to sing of rebellion, the awkward spaces of society, sexual liberation and more, it's no wonder they've taken off. With live shows the talk of the town, Savages already kicked the door in with their first debut album, "Silence Yourself." With cries about the issues of society, Jehnny Beth, the lead vocalist, explains that their first album is the problem and with the second album comes the solution.
Now several years later, Savages has taken its next steps towards understanding something many have tried (and failed): Love itself. Jehnny admitted to already writing songs for their new album, "Adore Life," while touring for "Silence Yourself"; if love could be free and pure, unadulterated, unlimited by societal norms and allowed to flourish, Jehnny describes that it could, indeed, be "The Answer."
"Adore Life" does not stray too far from Savages' already well-established intensity; songs like "The Answer" offer their loud, but now more rhythmic guitar to swiftly pelt listeners with their message. In the song Jehnny covers a slew of themes many dare not dwell upon: Jealousy ("if you don't love me, don't love anybody"), the roller coaster of emotions ("I know I"ll go insane"), and yet we learn that despite the issues and insanity that come along with love, when troubles stir and Jehnny "can't see no brighter future" she declares that the answer is a girl, and she wants to ask her (about love). When performed live, as with all their shows, Savages uses simple white lights combined with strobe lights: No colored lenses, nothing artificial.
A more measured take on the instrumentality and one of my favorites on the album, "Evil"is the next track offered on the album. "They will try to make you stay/steal the peace away from you/soak your actions in self doubt/if you don't live the way they like" offers criticism on society placing boundaries on the limits of what love can and cannot be; as an avid supporter of the LGBTQ+A community and someone that reads often about the tribulations placed upon anyone that strays from the status quo, I find it fantastic to hear such support of those who just want to love freely in music. Criticizing religious establishments in her song, Jehnny explains to listeners to resist the ideals held up by religious barriers and urges them to question that which they've been taught. "They'll make you feel jealousy/only one way to raise a family/I squeeze your brain 'til you forget/Why do you think you're so afraid?" A fantastic song with an interesting dance beat, "Evil" proves to be one of Savages' best songs yet.
In "Sad Person," Jehnny writes of her exasperation with love: "love is a disease/the strongest addiction I know." Beginning with Hassan's bass line accompanying Jehnny's vocals, the rest of the band comes in with the latter declaration. A song with the push and pull of the ocean, with calmer verses and intense choruses, "Sad Person" offers solid lines like "I'm not gonna hurt you/'cause I'm flirting with you"; whether or not Jehnny writes the lyrics to assure the listener or herself is unclear. Questioning herself her entire life about the things she enjoys and about her sexual persona, Jehnny finds that "the truth is right there/if you're beautiful here, you're beautiful there."
After three intense, upbeat songs, we come to the title track of the album: "Adore." A slower-paced, stripped-down song only introducing and focusing on the question: "is it human to adore life?" A focus on mortality and the need to live while one can, "Adore" offers a fantastic buildup of Jehnny's internal monologue. 'I understand the urgency of life/in the distance, there is truth that cuts like a knife/Maybe I will die, maybe tomorrow/So I need to say/I adore life." With a focus yet again on the bassline that almost convinces listeners that Hassan's bass is the lead, "Adore" offers simple instrumentals to accompany her simple truth, and simple question for listeners. Do you adore life?
Up next we have "Slowing Down the World," introduced by Jehnny as "a sexy song" when I saw Savages live at Ace of Cups in Columbus, Ohio. "Is it for you I long?/Is it for you I hide?/Is it for you I leave someone behind?" Addressing again the darkness of love, the track is a slow progression with less suspense but providing great steps for the next track on the album.
"I Need Something New" describes that point in time each relationship reaches after existing for long enough: we all need something new to spice things up. Opening up with just Jehnny's shrieking, harsh vocals and introducing Gemma Thompson's guitar later on, with a phenomonal beat by Fay Miltion on drums. "I'm trying to recreate/the heartbeat/the adrenaline/I need something new" declares Jehnny, as Hassan's bassline comes in again, a throbbing flow that eventually follows until everything but her bass and Jehnny's vocals drops out. "I could feel the cold air coming inside the room/And I thought that was new/Yeah, I thought that was something new/I need you." A barrage of guitar, drums, Jehnny's cry for "something new," the song ends almost abruptly with so much noise it's impossible to not feel the passion of the song as we hear Jehnny find what she's looking for.
'When In Love and Surrender" are the next tracks on the album, describing more about the darkness of love. "Is it love/Or is it boredom/that took me up/to your bedroom?" Jehnny asks. Knowing this isn't the love she's looking for, she still finds "excuses/after excuses/to stay longer/than I should." Messy as ever, she finds that even if she leaves, "next time I'm in the neighborhood/I might be knocking at your door." Is it love if you keep coming back? Jehnny ends the song saying she believes so: "this is love." "Surrender" is the next track. Gemma's guitar distorted and fading in and out, Jehnny's battle cry in the chorus for listeners to "surrender" are what she has to offer. Summoning listeners, she commands "come and be my muse/I want to get used." The song comes off as a "surrender" to the whims and throes of love.
"T.I.W.Y.G." is a whirlwind of a song; the title describes exactly what Jehnny tells us what this album shows. This insanity, the adrenaline rushes, the overwhelming heights of pleasure and happiness accompanied by the lows of 'suffering straight from the gods" and jealousy are "what you get when you mess with love." She declares that she will continue to "mess with love," however.
The album ends with the suspense-riddled track Mechanics. Don't let the song's slow beat distract you: It still holds up to defend Jehnny's stance on free love "when I take a man/or a woman/they're both the same/they're both human." She sings of how beautiful love can be, and how when she truly finds someone worthy, her love "will stand the test of time." Almost a ballad, Mechanics offers a beautiful statement of the best that love can truly offer: "when I'm with you/I want to do/all the things that/I never have done."
Savages' "Adore Life" offers up one of the freshest takes on love that any musicians have in years. Although the topic tempts most to cling to the fun of romantic love and the easy relatability of heartbreak and loss, Savages offers an analysis on the dark depths that love can reach and what love can look like when one is truly unafraid and unrestricted.
