A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts, and entertainment, produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from November 2014 – March 2020. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.
The U.K. punk band Savages broke onto the music scene in 2013 with its uncompromising debut album, “Silence Yourself.” The four-piece is now back with the follow-up, "Adore."
The band's live shows have been described in similar fashion by critics and fans alike: aggressive, loud and experimental. In concert, the band sometimes improvises verses, melodies, and even when a song starts and ends.
That environment is what inspired "Adore." The Frame's James Kim spoke with singer Jehnny Beth and drummer Fay Milton about how a punk rock band is able to stay fresh in an era of electronic music, and why they don't like the stereotypes associated with being a female musician.
Beth: I think what I like in performance is the ambiguity of things. So if there is a kind of androgynous side to things, I will take it. I like the idea of seeing the idea of a performance that you're wondering, Is it a man or is it a woman? Being a bit confused, I like it.
I've always been a tomboy since I was really young, but I think I'm mostly feminine. I really have both sides and I really like people who embrace the both sides of their personality. Also, there's something really enjoyable being a woman on stage and being fierce and not responding to the usual expectations from being one gender or another.
The music industry isn't as stable for a band as it was a couple decades ago, especially for a rock band. What made you decide to give it a go?
Beth: I remember when I started making music, I didn't have a job on the side. People in the music industry at the time would say, "Oh, this is the worst year in the business." Then the next year they would be like, "Oh, this is worse than last year." It kept getting worse and worse. So in a way, I think there's something lucky about our generation.
We've never really been professional musicians in the glorious times of the profession, so we know what it's like to work with nothing. I think that's something precious. But when you start, you do it because you're in a room with these people and there's an energy. You don't think, Oh, is this really a good career plan for me?
Milton: But it's great ... it cuts out people being involved in music for money, because there isn't any.
Savages' new album, "Adore," is out on Jan. 22. The band will be performing at this year's Coachella Music Festival.