Thinking (wo)man's neo-punk band

ON Savages' critically acclaimed debut album Silence Yourself, the all-female quartet plays an abrasive and noisy brand of post-punk music made from a wall of buzzing guitars, thundering drums and howling vocals.

So it comes as a slight surprise to find guitarist Gemma Thompson to be soft-spoken and extremely polite over the phone from London.

It's way past midnight there and the band, formed in 2011, is on a rare break from their relentless world tour. But the members - which also includes singer Jehnny Beth, bassist Ayse Hassan and drummer Fay Milton - are n…