Enough to get the slugs rocking
Awesomely exuberant and self-reflectively inventive, Les Savy Fav are back with a new collection of inspiring indie tunes.
Which other band would dare to write a piece about a bad fictional band as Les Savy Fav do in, 'Pots&Pans', the chaotic but wonderfully impassioned opener that leaves you gasping for breath and waiting for more? There are further numbers taking the form of staggering rock gems like, 'The Equestrian' which pummels the listener with frenetic rhythm and jagged vocals not unlike Kings of Leon; the equestrian euphemisms, "Now you're tugging on my bridle" are overdone, but can't fail to raise a smile as you dance away to the unstoppable pace.
Noodling guitarwork recalling the likes of Modest Mouse on, 'Patty Lee' and visceral melodies characterise Les Savy Fav's collaborative and organic sound, which will have you hooked as new elements pour in from all directions. Sweet fables like, 'What Would Wolves Do?' complete with soothing howls and the incendiary, 'Slugs In The Shrubs', which completely renews your preconceptions of a tune about the lazy garden munchers are high points. Les Savy Fav certainly have some off the ball ideas with 'Slugs In The Shrubs' truly kicking some arse as Tim screams his way through 2 and a half minutes of unleashed guitarwork yelping, "Everybody suspects us". Don't underestimate Les Savy Fav's power to totally flip the musical sphere and turn this album upside down and take it to a new level.
There's a fair amount of the simply kooky too, 'Brace Yourself' muses, "Before I was a cloud, I was a drip/Before I was a crush, I was a kiss" to a pretty, hypnotic and enticing flute tune, while, 'Comes&Goes' is a mellifluous gentle tune with an understated guitar line.
The references to "the present tense" in 'Slugs In The Shrubs' and 'Scotchguard In The Credit Card' and the allusions of a fictional band in 'Pots&Pans' paint a picture of a band eager to engage the listener in their thought process and remind them that they're still fresh, exciting and relevant. If you see this album in a CD shop, online, being ravaged by a flowerbed of slugs, wherever, you simply must give it a spin, it's been almost 6 years since Les Savy Fav recorded a full album of new material and it was worth the wait.