Savages – Silence Yourself

CD $12.98

LP $18.98

Savages’ primal, post-punk-inspired sound demands your full attention. From the get-go, Silence Yourself is no warm-hearted embrace of a record — its first song is called “Shut Up,” and then there’s that title. But theirs isn’t an empty confrontation; the British band delivers in spades with songs that dive into your bloodstream and live in you before you know it. “I Am Here” declares itself as a bearing for what’s to come, as if frontwoman Jehnny Beth is grabbing your hand and coaxing you toward your own future. “I am here, no more fear, no more dark shadows, let it come,” she sings chillingly in a mid-range trill somewhere between Siouxsie, Jeff Buckley and Rush’s Geddy Lee. Her band works into a froth that leads to an inevitable conclusion of Ayse Hassan’s pulverizing bass and Fay Milton’s bashing drums while Beth and guitarist Gemma Thompson trade ghostly exchanges above. Silence Yourself isn’t entirely full-throttle though; as any good post-punk devotee knows, the trick is pairing those moments with eerie, atmospheric tunes, and that’s exactly what Savages do, allowing for songs like “Waiting for a Sign,” which summons a combination of apocalyptic sound from Thompson’s guitar and Beth’s banshee wail, while Hassan and Milton keep things anchored in a glacial groove. “Dead Nature” follows, full of empty, echoing dread; these two songs allow the record to reach a midpoint of hollowed-out intensity before ratcheting back up the energy, on songs like “She Will,” which starts as the friendliest and danciest song on the record, until they make that chorus into an uncompromising sexual tirade. “Hit Me” and “Husbands” round out the album by allowing the band to play with full abandon. In the latter, Beth takes the confines of marriage and makes them into a virtual prison, crying “husbands” in frightening, alien repetition. The album’s piano-led, cabaret-esque closer, “Marshall Dear,” speaks great promise of Savages, as Beth goes lower in register and more operatic and the band tempers its great noise-making capabilities. It’s a riveting debut record from start to finish. We knew it was gonna be good judging by the advance press and last year’s I Am Here live EP, but Silence Yourself still smashes expectations and leaves you sitting in smoke, begging for more.

It was almost Cinco de Mayo and everyone at Amoeba was drunk! Well...OK, not really. But people were bidding as if they were drunk (on Tequila and agua de melon spiked with Cuervo).

On Saturday, May 4 we had a lighting-speed auctioneer, bestselling author Gustavo Arellano, hosting our Cuatro de Mayo charity auction to raise money for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA). He was also available after the auction to sign copies of his book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America.

In case you're not familiar, Gustavo is also a lecturer with the Chicana and Chicano Studies department at California State University, Fullerton. He writes “¡Ask a Mexican!,” a nationally syndicated column in which he answers any and all questions about America’s spiciest and largest minority. The column has a weekly circulation of over 2 million in 39 newspapers across the United States, won the 2006 and 2008 Association of Alternative Weeklies award for Best Column. In addition, Gustavo is a lifelong resident of Orange County and is the proud son of two Mexican immigrants (one of whom was illegal).

The recipient of Saturday's auction was Gustavo Dudamel's Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) program – inspired by Venezuela's revolutionary El Sistema. The LA Phil and its community partners provide free instruments, intensive music training, and academic support to students from underserved neighborhoods, enabling every child to contribute using their full potential. YOLA changes lives – one child, one family, one community at a time.

"Gun Fever," the brand new Hieroglyphics song/video that was unveiled last week at the same time that the 2013 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits was happening in Houston, Texas, tackles the current controversial topic of guns in America. From watching the new video, that the longtime Oakland hip-hop collective recorded to offer their input  on the gun debate as folks who grew up in a city known for gun violence and to reflect on the prevalent fascination with guns in American society, it got me thinking about songs about guns.

And there are a lot of songs about guns. Not all but many, not too surprisingly, are rap songs from the gangsta side of the genre that glorify gun use. Of course, like the new Hieros joint (which features some of the crew's best talents including Del, Casual, Tajai, and A-Plus), there are many other hip-hop songs that look at guns in a more analytical manner such as Paris' "One Gun" (off Acid Reflex) or Aesop Rock's "Babies With Guns" (off Bazooka Tooth) which suggests that nowadays guns are so prevalent in our society that even babies are packing.

To read more Behind The Grooves, go to http://behindthegrooves.tumblr.com.

On this day in music history: May 6, 1972 - The eponymously titled duet album by Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway is released. Produced by Joel Dorn and Arif Mardin, it is recorded at Altantic Recording Studios in New York City from March, August 12th to October 15, 1971. It is the first of three collaborations from the two friends and labelmates. The idea for the pairing will be suggested by Atlantic executive and producer Jerry Wexler, to heighten the profile of both artists. Months prior to the album's release, it will be proceeded by the release of two singles, including covers of James Taylor's then recent hit "You've Got A Friend" (#8 R&B, #29 Pop) and The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" (#30 R&B, #71 Pop). The Spring 1972 release of the album will coincide with Flack's breakthrough smash "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which was still holding the #1 spot on the Hot 100 at the time. The album will also be issued simultaneously with the single "Where Is The Love" (1 R&B, #5 Pop), which will be a huge crossover hit, winning Flack and Hathaway a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group in 1973. Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway will peak at #2 on the Billboard R&B album chart, #3 on the Top 200, and is certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.

Amoeba has entered into a partnership with L.A.’s Moheak Radio to provide the Amoeba Song of the Week every week for a recorded segment to air on Moheak’s online radio station.

This week it’s The XX’s “Sunset.” The sultry song from the English band’s second album, Coexist, is a prime example of the trio’s nighttime bliss. Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim trade hushed, romantic verses and dole out icy guitarwork while Jamie Smith lays down a minimalist beat. Sample or download the song here.

A bit about Amoeba’s Song of the Week: Every week we’ll provide a song hand-selected by our own staff to Moheak Radio for a recorded segment that will run four times a day (at around 8 a.m., 1 p.m., 5:45 p.m. and once overnight). Besides hearing what our expert staff is into, you’ll get the chance to win prizes from Amoeba Music. The giveaways will happen once a week with announcements at least once every four hours leading up to the giveaway, which will take place on Moheak’s Facebook page. Check it out, support local/online radio and win some prizes along the way.