Root for Ruin

Personnel: Tim Harrington (vocals); Seth Jabour, Andrew Reuland (guitar, background vocals); Harrison Haynes (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Chris Zane.
Recording information: Gigantic, New York, NY (01/2010-05/2010).
Photographer: Harrison Haynes.
With its fifth album, Root for Ruin, the art rock outfit continues with the sound that made Let's Stay Friends such a refreshing change for the band, refining its angular sound with pop polish. This slower, more melodic approach really shines on "Let's Get Out of Here," a laid-back, Pixies-influenced track that almost casually rises and falls, showing off the band's ability to take a chord progression and mine it for all its worth, coaxing out a breezy verse and an incredibly catchy hook that sound like they could be lost tracks from Doolittle. This more thoughtful approach also comes through on faster tracks like "Dirty Knails" and "Excess Energies," providing a look at a Les Savy Fav who are able to be kinetic without being frenetic, showing that they can still cut loose without losing control of the song. While Root for Ruin isn't the creative reawakening that Let's Stay Friends was, it might be the band's tightest and most polished album yet. At this point in their career, Les Savy Fav have evolved their style so much that any clamoring for a return to their previous form feels like stubborn nostalgia. In fact, with this current sound reaching such a level of refinement, the only question left to ask of the band is, "What's next?" ~ Gregory Heaney