Your enjoyment of a Savages concert depends entirely upon how easily you agree with what an artist is telling you to believe. The London-based quartet is a band with an overt and critical message for Western society best summed up by the title of their debut LP: Silence Yourself. However, given their philosophical decree, the problem for a young band like Savages is relying too much on style over substance.

Savages received quite a lot of attention last March at SXSW for posting signs before their gigs to request (in all caps) that audience members silence their mobile devices in the name of making the event unique. “OUR GOAL,” explains the band, “IS TO DISCOVER BETTER WAYS OF LIVING AND EXPERIENCING MUSIC.” An earlier Facebook note (also in all caps) further expounds the particular brand of salvation Savages offer to the music world in 2013:

SAVAGES’ INTENTION IS TO CREATE A SOUND, INDESTRUCTIBLE, MUSICALLY SOLID, WRITTEN FOR THE STAGE AND DESIGNED WITH ENOUGH NUANCES TO PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF EMOTIONS. SAVAGES ARE A SELF-AFFIRMING VOICE TO HELP EXPERIENCE OUR GIRLFRIENDS DIFFERENTLY, OUR HUSBANDS, OUR JOBS, OUR EROTIC LIFE, AND THE PLACE MUSIC OCCUPIES INTO OUR LIVES. SAVAGES’ SONGS AIM TO REMIND US THAT HUMAN BEINGS HAVEN’T EVOLVED SO MUCH, THAT MUSIC CAN STILL BE STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, EFFICIENT AND EXCITING.

The subtext of this message is, of course, that the majority of today’s actively creating rock bands have failed to live up to these ideals–the ideals Savages want to fist-pump into your head. Not only are Savages serious, but also they take themselves seriously. After all, leaving the caps lock on for your band’s debut manifesto means you’re serious, right?

Nevertheless, this brash stance has already earned Savages a growing wave of acclaim, and their sold out show at the Middle East Downstairs made it clear that listeners of all sorts are paying attention. Rock critic and Sound Opinions co-host Jim DeRogatis recently proclaimed Silence Yourself his current frontrunner for album of the year, and explained their appeal during a recent installment of the radio program:

These four young women from the UK […] are expressing anger, disgust, and contempt for the modern condition and the alienation we are experiencing from one another thanks to the deluge of digital communications. But there is optimism as well. They believe that if only we talk to each other, and we, in their words, “Shut up and listen to each other,” we will find the joy of life again.

The crowd–freshly alienated from the modern condition–was a 75-25 split between hip, angular, and smug 20-to-30-somethings and an older batch of post-punk fans perhaps looking to catch the next Joy Division, having spun vinyl from the original wave of dour British rock back during their years on college radio. The comparison rings true given that the sonic chassis of Silence Yourself owes much to Joy Division, along with the fact that frontwoman Jehnny Beth shares a startlingly similar visual aesthetic to that of Ian Curtis.

But Savages isn’t just a revival of the post-punk revival. In fact, several songs on Silence Yourself veer in and out of the “post-punk” and “punk” lanes like an out of control auto (e.g. “She Will”). Savages’ music navigates the treacherous tightrope between clear homage to inspiration and a distinct reworking of it. The fierceness critics have thus far attributed to Savages comes in the form of angry squalls of ferocity, and it truly is their strongest quality on record and live. But even this fierceness feels a generation too late as raucous tracks like “Hit Me” and “Husbands” could easily pass for long-lost Yeah Yeah Yeahs cuts circa 2003. Elsewhere, Beth gives her best Morrissey impression on “Strife” (seriously, the bridge gives it away), a distant cousin of “How Soon Is Now?”

On stage, Savages seek to create an immersive environment for their post-punk-punk that includes unsettling looped drones between acts to the band’s uniform all-black attire. Beth is undoubtedly a captivating presence as the group’s vocalist, and during the set she punched enough invisible air foes to conquer a kingdom. Her vocal range is equally impressive, having unleashed several unsettling screams by the night’s end. However, the band is far too austere on stage, to the extent that they look like they are truly unhappy to be performing for hundreds of wild fans while on their first victory lap of America. Furthermore, Beth’s theatrical spoken word introductions for select songs left the room tangibly confused, with a borderline cliche like, “Do you have someone you love?” sounding more a demand than question. A few brave audience members responded with restrained cheers in these situations, but what exactly do you do when a musician dramatically monologues about S&M and commands you to “leash” them after applause? Moments like these weren’t anything other than awkward.

Savages is currently a bit of an enigma, and perhaps that’s evidence enough for their fast acceptance by rock critics and fans alike. Their artistic project may need some more time to solidify before it can match the stadium-sized heights for which they’re reaching and will probably attain. Considering that Savages design their musical experience “for the stage,” it is more disappointing than usual to see a hyped new band miss that mark while still being so forceful about it. As one commenter wrote in response to Savages’ Facebook call to arms, “Admirable. But really fucking pretentious.”