''Silence Yourself'' is the debut studio album by the English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band Savages, released on 6 May 2013 on

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

and Pop Noire, a label owned by vocalist

Jehnny Beth Jehnny Beth (born Camille Berthomier, 24 December 1984) is a French musician and actress originally from Poitiers and based in London, England since 2006. She came to notability within Europe as one half of the indie rock duo John & Jehn, and ...

. It was nominated for the

2013 Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the United Kingdom or Ireland. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with ...

Music and style

Critics made a parallel with British

of the late 1970s,

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

. ''NME'' wrote that "French frontwoman Jehnny Beth has moulded herself into the demonic, possessed spawn of

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

and

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), better known by her stage name Siouxsie Sioux (, ), is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who w ...

". '' Uncut'' retrospectively said about the music: "It is a bit Siouxsie, a bit

Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk sc ...

, 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 Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, 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

albums. In 2020, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' 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 ndintimidating" nature of women in punk music. In 2019, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 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 avages' live showadrenaline; in its coiled, sparking guitars and rabid screams, it warns of the dangers of technology while weaponizing its potential."

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from ''Silence Yourself''s album notes. ;Savages * Jehnny Beth – vocals, piano *Gemma Thompson – guitar, illustration *Ayse Hassan – bass *Fay Milton – drums ;Additional musicians *

Duke Garwood Duke Garwood (born 1969) is a British multi-instrumentalist from London. Biography Duke Garwood has released six studio albums: ''Holy Week'', '' Emerald Palace'', '' The Sand That Falls'', '' Dreamboatsafari'', '' Heavy Love'', and ''Garden o ...

– clarinet (11) ;Technical personnel *Johnny Hostile –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

, mixing *

Rodaidh McDonald Roderick William George "Rodaidh" McDonald is a Scottish record producer, and record company executive. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. His production and mixing credits include ...

– production, mixing *Mattia Sartori – assistant engineering *Mike Marsh – mastering ;Design personnel *Antoine Carlier – design *Richard Dumas – photography "Shut Up" samples

Joan Blondell Rose Joan Blondell (August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on a film career, estab ...

's dialogue from the 1977

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

film '' Opening Night''.

Chart positions

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2013 debut albums Savages (band) albums Matador Records albums Albums produced by Rodaidh McDonald