Savages

Savages owe their success to a particularly London-centric brand of hipness. The xx –with whom Savages share an androgynous look and a general aura of romantic gloom – has won a legion of fans thanks to a similar aesthetic, but while that group favours hushed seduction, this all-female quartet traffics in grab-you-by-the-throat urgency. 'Husbands', which surfaced in 2012 on Savages’ debut seven-inch, contrasts a tense bass/drums throb with a melodic-noise eruption courtesy guitarist Gemma Thompson. Jehnny Beth’s incantatory chant-snarl completes this three-minute neopostpunk master class, instantly reminiscent of Siouxsie and the Banshees and other arty late-’70s touchstones yet far too assured to write off as a mere retread.