Silence Yourself

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.^[3] It was nominated for the 2013 Mercury Prize.^{[citation needed]}

Silence Yourself
Studio album by Savages
Released	6 May 2013 (2013-05-06)
Recorded	December 2012 (2012-12) at Fishfactory in London, United Kingdom
Genre	Post-punk[1] alternative rock[2]
Length	38:39
Label	Matador, Pop Noire
Producer	Johnny Hostile, Rodaidh McDonald
Savages chronology
I Am Here (2012) Silence Yourself (2013) Adore Life (2016)

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".^[4] 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".^[5]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.0/10[6]
Metacritic	82/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	B[8]
Chicago Tribune	[9]
The Daily Telegraph	[10]
The Guardian	[11]
Mojo	[12]
NME	8/10[4]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Spin	8/10[15]

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".^[7]

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,^[16] and No. 20 on the Rock Albums chart.^[17] The album has sold 43,000 copies in the US as of December 2015.^[18]

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.^[19] 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.^[20]

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."^[21]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank	Ref.
The A.V. Club	The 23 Best Albums of 2013	2013	7	[22]
AllMusic	Best of 2013	2013	-	[23]
BBC Music	Albums of the Year 2013	2013	4	[24]
MusicOMH	Top 100 Albums of 2013	2013	8	[25]
NME	50 Best Albums of 2013	2013	5	[26]
Pitchfork	The Top 50 Albums of 2013	2013	9	[27]
The Quietus	Albums of the Year 2013	2013	11	[28]
Time Out	Top 20 Albums of 2013	2013	12	[29]
Village Voice	The 25 Best Albums of 2013	2013	12	[30]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Shut Up"	4:48
2.	"I Am Here"	3:20
3.	"City's Full"	3:27
4.	"Strife"	3:57
5.	"Waiting for a Sign"	5:25
6.	"Dead Nature"	2:06
7.	"She Will"	3:27
8.	"No Face"	3:35
9.	"Hit Me"	1:41
10.	"Husbands"	2:50
11.	"Marshal Dear"	4:03
Total length:		38:39

All tracks are written by Savages

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from Silence Yourself's album notes.^[31]

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)	Peak position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[32]	64
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[33]	93
Dutch Albums Chart[34]	75
Irish Albums Chart[35]	39
Irish Independent Albums Chart[36]	5
UK Albums Chart[37]	19
UK Independent Albums Chart[38]	5
US Billboard 200[39]	70
US Billboard Alternative Albums[39]	14
US Billboard Independent Albums[39]	13
US Billboard Rock Albums[39]	20

References

1. Phares, Heather. "Silence Yourself – Savages". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
2. Pitchfork Staff (8 October 2019). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 May 2023. And maybe a clarinet solo does belong in the year's most casually brutal rock album. Suddenly, the alternatives sounded ancient.
3. "Coming May 6: Savages – Silence Yourself LP/CD/digital album". Matador Records. 19 March 2013. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
4. Barlow, Eve (7 May 2013). "Savages, 'Silence Yourself'". NME. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
5. Pattison, Louis (10 February 2016). "Adore Life- review". Uncut. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2016.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. "Silence Yourself by Savages reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
7. "Reviews for Silence Yourself by Savages". Metacritic. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
8. Zaleski, Annie (7 May 2013). "Savages: Silence Yourself". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
9. Kot, Greg (6 May 2013). "Album review: Savages, 'Silence Yourself'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
10. Brown, Helen (3 May 2013). "Savages, Silence Yourself, album review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
11. Petridis, Alexis (2 May 2013). "Savages: Silence Yourself – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
12. Segal, Victoria (June 2013). "Fierce creatures: First mission from this year's statement band". Mojo (235): 87. ISSN 1351-0193.
13. Zoladz, Lindsay (6 May 2013). "Savages: Silence Yourself". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
14. Fricke, David (7 May 2013). "Silence Yourself". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
15. Benson, Stephanie (6 May 2013). "Savages, 'Silence Yourself' (Pop Noire/Matador)". Spin. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
16. "Billboard 200". Billboard. 25 May 2013.
17. "Rock Albums". Billboard. 25 May 2013.
18. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015.
19. Treble Staff (28 January 2016). "10 Essential 21st century post-punk albums". Treble. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
20. Hunt, El (3 September 2020). "The story of post-punk in 15 classic albums". NME. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
21. "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
22. "The 23 Best Albums of 2013". The A.V. Club. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
23. "AllMusic Best of 2013". AllMusic. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
24. "Albums of the Year 2013". BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
25. "MusicOMH's Top 100 Albums of 2013". MusicOMH. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
26. "NME's 50 Best Albums of the 2013". NME. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
27. "The Top 50 Albums of 2013". Pitchfork. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
28. "Quietus Albums of the Year 2013". The Quietus. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
29. "Time Out's Top 20 Albums of 2013". Time Out. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
30. "The 25 Best Albums of 2013". The Village Voice. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
31. Silence Yourself (Album notes). Savages. Matador Records. 2013. OLE-1036-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
32. "Savages – Silence Yourself". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
33. "Savages – Silence Yourself". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
34. "Savages – Silence Yourself". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
35. "Top 100 Artist Album, Week Ending 9 May 2013". Chart-Track. GfK. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
36. "Top 10 Independent Artist Album, Week Ending 9 May 2013". Chart-Track. GfK. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
37. "2013-05-18 Top 40 Official Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
38. "2013-05-18 Top 40 Independent Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
39. "Silence Yourself – Savages | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 9 December 2013.

External links

• Silence Yourself at Discogs (list of releases)