Jehnny Beth, lead singer of UK rock band Savages, postponed her debut solo album until June 12 due to coronavirus concerns. The French singer’s solo album, To Love is To Live was set to be released on May 8 before ultimately being pushed back.
“Record stores are where I found myself as a teenager, digging through albums that ultimately shaped who I have become,” Beth said in a press release. “To release my first ever solo album in a way that would leave them out felt wrong to me.”
Along with the announcement, the French singer released the album’s third single, “Innocence,” and a live video of the song being performed at rehearsal.
“‘Innocence’ is about the feeling of isolation and distance Jehnny Beth has experienced many times in big cities despite being so close to people all the time,” the press release states. “Although recorded well before this, in many ways, it is an eerily prescient song of our now.”
Beth edits her voice to drop deep as the song first begins, asking “if living in the city turns your heart so cold.” The drums remain prominent throughout the song as her voice switches between spitting lyrics and drifting through the chorus while she describes her isolation.
The album was recorded throughout Los Angeles, London and Paris. Producers include Flood, Atticus Ross, and Johnny Hostile along with contributions from The xx’s Romy Madley Croft, actor Cillian Murphy and IDLES’ Joe Talbot. Hostile had previously worked with Beth and produced Savages’ albums Silence Yourself and Adore Life.
The first single from Beth’s upcoming album, “I’m the Man,” was featured on the soundtrack for BBC series Peaky Blinders back in November.
Savages members Fay Milton and Ayse Hassan have also created their own music project called 180b since the band’s hiatus in 2017.
Photo credit: Raymond Flotat
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