Silence Yourself is the debut studio album by the English post-punk band Savages, released on 6 May 2013 on Matador Records and Pop Noire, a label owned by vocalist Jehnny Beth. It was nominated for the 2013 Mercury Prize.
Music and style Critics made a parallel with British post-punk of the late 1970s, Magazine and Gang of Four. NME wrote that "French frontwoman Jehnny Beth has moulded herself into the demonic, possessed spawn of Ian Curtis and Siouxsie Sioux". Uncut retrospectively said about the music: "It is a bit Siouxsie, a bit Stranglers, a bit Magazine – and after a decade-odd of bands reviving the sounds and strategies of post-punk".
Reception and legacy
Silence Yourself received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
In the United Kingdom, the album reached No. 19 on the charts. In the United States, the album debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard 200, and No. 20 on the Rock Albums chart. The album has sold 43,000 copies in the US as of December 2015.
Retrospectively, Silence has continued to earn critical praise. In 2016, Treble placed it on their list of the 21st century's essential post-punk albums. In 2020, NME included Silence in their list of 15 "wildly influential" records in the post-punk genre. Noting Savages' "much-needed dose of self-mythology" they brought with them, they credited the band with sparking important questions about the perceived "bolshy [and] intimidating" nature of women in punk music.
In 2019, Pitchfork ranked Silence Yourself at number 178 on their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s"; senior editor Stacey Anderson wrote: "Silence Yourself carries every bit of [Savages' live show] adrenaline; in its coiled, sparking guitars and rabid screams, it warns of the dangers of technology while weaponizing its potential."
Accolades Publication Accolade Year Rank The A.V. Club The 23 Best Albums of 2013 2013 AllMusic Best of 2013 2013 BBC Music Albums of the Year 2013 2013 MusicOMH Top 100 Albums of 2013 2013 NME 50 Best Albums of 2013 2013 Pitchfork The Top 50 Albums of 2013 2013 The Quietus Albums of the Year 2013 2013 Time Out Top 20 Albums of 2013 2013 Village Voice The 25 Best Albums of 2013 2013
Track listing
Personnel All personnel credits adapted from Silence Yourselfs album notes.
Savages Jehnny Beth – vocals, piano Gemma Thompson – guitar, illustration Ayse Hassan – bass Fay Milton – drums
Additional musicians Duke Garwood – clarinet (11)
Technical personnel Johnny Hostile – production, mixing Rodaidh McDonald – production, mixing Mattia Sartori – assistant engineering Mike Marsh – mastering
Design personnel Antoine Carlier – design Richard Dumas – photography
"Shut Up" samples Joan Blondell's dialogue from the 1977 John Cassavetes film Opening Night.
Chart positions Chart (2013) Peakposition Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders) 64 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) 93 Dutch Albums Chart 75 Irish Albums Chart 39 Irish Independent Albums Chart 5 UK Albums Chart 19 UK Independent Albums Chart 5 US Billboard 200 70 US Billboard Alternative Albums 14 US Billboard Independent Albums 13 US Billboard Rock Albums 20
References
External links