Album Review: Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin

I can appreciate a band who chooses to traipse along the edge of the mainstream. The punk pop hooks, chanted choruses and shitstorm live shows make bands such as Les Savy Fav all the more of a hidden treasure for the cool kids to keep for themselves. With a pedigree dating back to 1995 at Rhode Island School of Design (where Talking Heads also originally met), Les Savy Fav have always brought the noisy, catchy, chaotic good times by grabbing all the serious power chords from their favorite punk bands and adding in their own sardonic twists. On their sixth album Root For Ruin out on Frenchkiss Records, their is an indisputable agenda here: create 10 tracks that will make a live audience lose their collective minds with bruised, aching, screaming joy. Mission accomplished.

Kicking off Root For Ruin is "Appetites", an off-kilter stop-and-starter that explodes into a punk rock cheer. By first requesting anyone to "Show us your tits" then referencing Silver Jews' tongue in cheek anthem "Punks In The Beerlight", "Appetites" becomes a cute inside joke, equal parts smart-ass crude and indie rock conceit. "Dirty Knails" features snatched Jesus Lizard fiery blues guitar and kick in the gut bass as lead singer Tim Harrington decides to chant like a preacher waiting on the Holy Ghost. They turn up the effects on "Poltergeist" giving it a road movie quality while it's theme will surely be utilized for Harrington's stage antics. Other tracks ripe for live performance are the silly come-ons for  "Lips n' Stuff" where Harrington requests to "be friends with benefits" and the oppositely titled, yet similarly surface level rock-outs "Excess Energies" and "Calm Down".

Where the muscular riffs and good times are abundant, the depth for most of Root For Ruin is about waist high. That attribute would not be so apparent if it weren't for Les Savy Fav's catalog showing how capable they were of blending their smarts and rock savvy. On Ruin, "Appetites" and "High and Unhinged" both feature the clever phrasing over melodic snares that capture your thoughts and send your body on its destructive moshpit-bound path. Newly inspired to dive back into the Les Savy Fav catalog, hearing some of the old tracks reminded me that their previous efforts were more challenging both musically and in the lyrics. All of the tracks on Root For Ruin are fun and of quality, making a great introduction to a storied band. If you are inspired to discover more, look to 2007's Let's Stay Friends and their early singles collection Inches for the best Les Savy Fav has to offer. Meanwhile, enjoy the party that is found here on Root For Ruin.

Purchase Les Savy Fav - Root for Ruin here.

Purchase Les Savy Fav - Inches here.

Purchase Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends here.

Les Savy Fav - Appetites


Les Savy Fav - Sleepless in Silverlake


Les Savy Fav - Let's Get Out Of Here


Les Savy Fav - Excess Energies