Savages unleashes brutal beauty at Trees in Dallas

“Do you want more?”

A perspiring Jehnny Beth stood on the Trees stage, the smoke and lights swirling around her, the cheers of the crowd answering in the affirmative.

“Are you ready for what’s coming next?”

Like a roundhouse punch thrown with care, the British post-punk band Savages laced into The Answer, the opening track of its sophomore album, Adore Life, which comprised much of the set list.

It’s a song built like a cement mixer with a rocket strapped to it, and Beth’s flinty alto, gliding atop the gnashing, gut-churning rhythm section, evoked sparks from a fuse.

For 90 minutes Monday, Savages — along with Beth, the five-year-old group is comprised of Gemma Thompson, Ayse Hassan and Fay Milton — relentlessly channeled the grim, bruised urgency of post-punk, shot through with a ray of sunlight, however cold.

Clad in all black, Savages would not accept a reluctant audience, urging them on, insisting they draw closer to the flickering, flashing lights on stage — at one point, Beth was performing in the midst of the room, held aloft by eager fans — and making sounds of a purifying, abrasive intensity.

“I understand the urgency of life/In the distance there is truth which cuts like a knife/Maybe I will die maybe tomorrow so I need to say/I adore life,” Beth hissed during Adore, a succinct summation of Savages’ philosophy.

It is enough, the band seemed to say, to evoke the abyss, and know that it is there. Leaping into oblivion isn’t always the answer.

Monday nights are not traditionally earmarked for blockbuster rock shows, and the couple hundred in attendance reflected as much, but those who made the effort to get to Trees were rewarded with one of the most riveting, consistently thrilling showcases yet seen this year in North Texas.

Savages gave the room all it could handle, with Jehnny Beth often singing so intently her cheekbones would pop.

Yet, the mile-wide grin on Beth’s face near the concert’s conclusion betrayed the severe figures, doling out punishingly captivating music: “We will be back!” she declared, pleased she’d left an indelible mark.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 12:25 AM with the headline "Savages unleashes brutal beauty at Trees in Dallas."