Category:
Rock

Try if you like:
Dismemberment Plan, Jawbox, Q And Not U, Six Finger Satellite

•   The Equestrian
•   What Do Wolves Do

I can't say that I've been a Les Savy Fav fan for a long time. In fact my first exposure to the band was their collection Inches. And while Les Savy Fav have been around for the better part of the last decade and seen a load of imitators follow them in a number of their styles, the band doesn't stick to anything for much more than a couple of songs. 

You'll find a fresh start for Les Savy Fav on their new full-length Let's Stay Friends. In fact, if it wasn't for the recognizability of Tim Harrington's vocals you might not even know that this was the same band. 

This album starts out with a great pop song called "Pots & Pans", one that could easily bring legions of fans to the shows of Les Savy Fav. Then the hard hitting post-punk "The Equestrian" hits the ears and scares everyone away. What are left are the die-hards, the only people that the group gives a fuck about. Then beat ladened "The Year Before The Year 2000" reminds us of where these guys came from. If the Rapture could write songs this good they might actually still be relevant. "Patty Lee" is a fun track too, showing that Tim and crew can still have a good time. Tim's falsetto on this one is pretty damn cool.

I love the Clash feel of "Brace Yourself". It's dark but has a great bass riff that keeps the song moving forward. Definitely one of Friends' highlights.  Another interesting track is "Comes and Goes", a duet with Eleanor Friedberge from Fiery Furnaces. It's a gentler track, almost ballad-esque. The album closes with another great upbeat track called "The Lowest Bitter" on which Seth Jabour's guitar really takes a lead roll. 

Let's Stay Friends rewards with repeated listens. It is a diverse album from one of the coolest indie bands of our time. Les Savy Fav are more relevant now then they were back when they released their last full-length, Go Forth (2001).