Savages live @ The Ritz, Manchester

Image: Savages

The Ritz has had many tribes pass through its doors, this occasion it was the turn of the punk rockers and an older crowd was out in force, the four women on stage perhaps reminding them of bygone years and the days of the monochrome post punk scene prevalent in the 70’s and 80’s. 

Dr Martens were a plenty as thunderous all-female group Savages hit town, they are currently reaping the rewards of a Mercury Award Nomination through the increase in album sales of their debut Silence Yourself. The London-French act fronted by Jenny Beth have seen their stock rise, the size of room they can now command is bigger, the following they have amassed has also increased since their early days and after their BBC Sound of 2013 shortlisting late last year. 

Stripped back, stylised and emerging from the shadows, the four band members were clad in black and cut enigmatic figures, their uniformed complexion reflected in the music. Presented through distortion and feedback, it switches back and forth between perturbing vocal hooks from singer Beth and the gritty jolts from the guitar of Gemma Thompson to the right of the stage.

A throw back to the days of Siouxsie and The Banshees, the band have a manner which is lost amongst their contemporary musical comrades in an ever auto-tuned and pop friendly industry. We would go as far to say that they are unique in their time, dragging the genre into the 21st century with force, conviction and a clear purpose achieved through the sound and vision that they communicate.

Commanded by the band to refrain from using mobile phones during the performance and embrace the “live experience”, we gladly kept ours nestled in our pocket, immersed in the ferocious sounds of this heavy-duty London outfit. Their anti-instragram philosophy is born out of their traditional ethics and punk values, their rumbling drumbeats and strong idealistic desire is plain to see but somewhat restricting. 

Savages have emerged kicking and fighting out of the underground and throughout the performance the Ritz was awash with magnetic flashes of bright white lights, during the sudden darkness between tracks we were serenaded by Beth who baited the crowd with short monologues amid songs and deafening instrumentals. 

The highlights being the slower paced ‘Waiting for a Sign’ which was juxtaposed by the outbreak of the powerful ‘I am Here’ , both showing off their grasp of their genre and that they can go some way towards emulating the sheer depths and quality of classic songs such as ‘Atmosphere’ and ‘Transmission’ from Manchester’s Joy Division. 

A colourless yet relentlessly powerful performance, their strength is their unmistakably commanding attitudes, the piercing guitar jabs and rumbling bass which is all held together by the fluxes in drum tempo and intense ear-piercing frenzies.

Angst ridden tracks ‘Fuckers’ and ‘Dead Nature’ were performed in force and in a swift rage and suddenly their unruly social commentary and ferocious stormy set had passed. It left on-lookers with a comprehension into the past, present and future of a genre that has just about got a grasp on the current mainstream, and almost uniquely paraded by this relatively raw and single-minded outfit.