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May 06, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Johnny Hostile Jehnny Beth

Jehnny Beth, frontperson for British four-piece Savages, is releasing her debut solo album, To Love Is to Live, on June 12 via Caroline. Now she has shared another song from the album, “Heroine.” The second episode of Echoes, Beth’s music program for the French TV channel Arte, has also recently premiered and it features performances from King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, and Beak> (as well as a roundtable interview between Beth and all three artists). Check out “Heroine” and the Echoes episode below.

Beth had this to say about “Heroine” in a press release: “When I think of this song, I think of Romy from The xx strangling my neck with her hands in the studio. She was trying to get me out of my shell lyrically, and there was so much resistance in me she lost her patience. The song was originally called ‘Heroism,’ but I wasn’t happy because it was too generic. [The producer] Flood was the first one to suggest to say ‘Heroine’ instead of ‘Heroism.’ Then I remember Johnny Hostile late at night in my hotel room in London saying ‘I don’t understand who you are singing about. Who is the Heroine? You ARE the Heroine.’ The next morning, I arrived early in the studio and recorded my vocals adding ‘to be’ to the chorus line: ‘all I want is TO BE a heroine.’ Flood entered the studio at that moment and jumped in the air giving me the thumbs up through the window. I guess I’m telling this story because sometimes we look around for role models, and examples to follow, without realizing that the answer can be hidden inside of us. I was afraid to be the Heroine of the song, but it took all the people around me to get me there.”

To Love Is to Live was due out May 8, but in April it was pushed back to June 12 due to COVID-19.

In November Beth shared the new unrelenting solo song, “I’m the Man,” from the soundtrack of the Netflix/BBC show Peaky Blinders. It was one of our Songs of the Week. Then she shared a video for “I’m the Man.” When the album was announced, Beth shared its new single “Flower” (which was one of our Songs of the Week). Then she shared a video for “Flower” and announced a new erotic short story collection and photo book, C.A.L.M. (which stands for Crimes Against Love Manifesto). The book features short stories by Beth and photos by Johnny Hostile. C.A.L.M. is due out in July via White Rabbit. Then Beth shared another song from the album, “Innocence.”

To Love Is to Live was recorded in Los Angeles, London, and Paris with producers Flood, Atticus Ross, and longtime co-creator Johnny Hostile. The album also features The xx’s Romy Madley Croft, Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy, and IDLES’ Joe Talbot.

Savages released their last album, Adore Life, back in 2016 via Matador.

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