Black Diamond 3

Here's a new surprise doutre inning from us, the first album Savages, all-female group, singing, Jehnny Beth, aka Camille Berthomier, like his French nickname lindique not, and most importantly, and most surprisingly, half of the duo John and Jehn author of two albums in rock style shooting at a pretty good pop imaginative child. She is accompanied by three girls less known to me it seems, Ayse Hassan on bass, Fay Milton on drums and Gemma Thompson on guitar. A quartet which has its fifth Beatles, John Hostile, the producer of the album, which is none other than the second half of duo John and Jehn.

Yet Silence Yourself is in a very different register, incredibly different that lon could attach, simply put, the post punk movement that marked the late 70s and early 80s Daucuns nhésitent dailleurs not comparing this music to that of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division. It is true quaux first, Jehnny Beth takes the particular voice Siouxsie Sioux, almost unrecognizable voice, completely inhabited dune expressive power that gives chills navait what ever reached in his duet with John. And second, a dark and tragic atmosphere.

But the references do not sarrêtent there. The quartet and claims a certain filiation with Black Sabbath and it is true that one can find in some riffs a reference to hard rock band, but it's rather quiet. So less obvious, one can also discern e similarities, if not conscious references in some experimental rock groups such as the Hovercraft too soon, with bass lines that draws the melody and sharp guitars, creaking, tortured and Completion bruitisme trafficked. Thus, the end of one of the best pieces of the album, Wainting for a Sign, followed immediately of a purely noisy intrumental, Dead Nature, lun and the other in a sepulchral atmosphere. Fleeting and excellent English group, Dark Star (single album, Twenty Twenty Sound, 1998), which no one may recall, is not far, which combined a little this way electrical flashes and hanging times. Sonic Youth, the last period, also appears to have stood bent over the cradle of the young group (She will, Husbands).

But the 11 titles of the album nen least not form a coherent whole, a music both dark, powerful, tragic, at times restrained violence, as in the great final song, Dear Marshal, a kind of venomous ballad, where the piano ( that is not credited on the cover, but must be played by John and Jehn) made its first appearance, and sachève on a clarinet solo, surprising but perfectly coherent too.

This is black, this is brilliant, pure diamond unexpected and even unexpected. Long live Savages.