C.A.L.M.
Crimes Against Love Manifesto
because a life lived in fear is equal to no life at all
I won’t gamble our existence on the fickle world of ‘what will they think’
and wake up one day thinking I have wasted the wonderful fact of my own existence
I won’t worry about fear, jealousy, solitude
the system that weighs duty against desire and pronounces desire the looser
they’re all byproducts of love
unavoidable obstacles implanted in our core
by generations of parents, grand-parents and all the people
who fall in love and yet are unhappy
and who blaming themselves for having lived too timidly
will attack me for having dared
I live on the other side of their wall
I break through their rules of loving
searching for my own alternative ways
no matter the morals agreed collectively
the prudishness and punishments
the accepted forms of loving, family, monogamy
and far too much imprisonment
in secret, in the safety of my apartment, inside our heads
I will create a space where they don’t belong
a place where I am free
my neighbours won’t know about it
my family won’t know about it
and those who think they can be part of it
but haven’t made the sacrifice
are not welcome
there, I will practise my secret rituals
with those who have defeated their fears
days and nights, out of sight and silently
Best known as the charismatic lead singer and co-writer of UK band Savages, who received Mercury Prize nominations for both of their now-classic two albums Silence Yourself (2013) and Adore Life (2016), Jehnny Beth’s voice, lyrical perspective, and incredible live performances have captivated audiences since the early Aughts. But it’s in To Love Is To Live that Jehnny Beth truly steps into - and claims - the spotlight. The album is a sonic tour de force, a dark cinematic meditation on the strange business of being alive. Throughout the record, she explores the deepest reaches of her creative consciousness...wrapped in a whirlwind of sounds. Indeed, in accessing those darkest and least comfortable parts of herself, Jehnny Beth has created a piece of work that is stunningly cathartic, fiercely abrasive, delicately exposed, and rich for discourse.
From subverting power balances (“I’m The Man”) to marrying dense textures with stark instrumentation (“The Rooms”) to walking the thin line between the sacred and the profane to explore existential themes (“French Countryside”), To Love Is To Live sees Jehnny Beth giving her intense vulnerability a glorious voice - musically and lyrically -- like no one else making music today. Which is to say: The album is a sublime tumble through life’s loftiest questions, an album forged from the ambition and courage of an artist putting everything she’d got right -- and indeed everything she is -- into the music.
Jehnny Beth will be playing select shows throughout 2020. Tour dates are:
3/8/20 London, UK @ BBC 6 Music Festival
5/29/20 London, UK @ All Points East Festival
5/31/20 Kværndrup, Denmark @ Heartland Festival
6/2/20 Hamburg, Germany @ Mojo
6/4/20 Paris, France @ La Gaîté Lyrique
6/5/20 Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Festival
6/9/20 Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
6/10/20 Marina Di Ravenna, Italy @ Beaches Brew Festival
6/12/20 Porto, Portugal @ Primavera Festival
6/30/20 Berlin, Germany @ Säälchen
7/3/20 Ewjik, Netherlands @ Down the Rabbit Hole Festival
7/4/20 Arras, France @ Main Square Festival 2020
7/15/20 Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity Theater
7/18/20 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall
7/19/20 Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
7/21/20 Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre
7/22/20 Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
7/23/20 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
7/25/20 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
7/26/20 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
7/27/20 Reims, France @ La Magnifique Society
To Love Is To Live cover art:
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