Can it really be six years since the last proper Les Savy Fav LP? They’ve kept us so satiated with the brilliant singles that eventually became Inches and their spasms of ferocious touring, we hardly noticed. Let’s Stay Friends was worth the wait, and the art-punk quartet has created perhaps their most mature music to date.
Whereas Rome (Written Upside Down) was a herky-jerky introduction to the band’s relentlessly idiosyncratic style and Go Forth was an attempt to exert control over that energy, Let’s Stay Friends sounds like the culmination of those efforts. The opening notes of “Pots and Pans” are familiar in tone, yet as the first verse rises, it’s clear that the band has matured and learned that it can let things simmer just as well as let things explode.
In the face of singer Tim Harrington’s colossal presence, it’s easy to overlook the comparatively subtle contributions of guitarist Seth Jabour, who truly provides much of the color and zest that defines the band’s sound. He shreds comfortably across “The Equestrian” and “Kiss Kiss is Getting Old,” proving to be equally adept with a complex lead guitar line as he is with a thick riff. “What Would Wolves Do?” is a deceptively genteel song that blossoms into the album’s centerpiece and brightest moment, emitting more power than some of the band’s raucous rave-ups.
Let’s Stay Friends is everything that’s wonderful about this exceptional group of musicians; they’re reliable yet never repetitive, aggressive but tempered with whimsy and coy self-awareness. Six years isn’t too long to wait for an album of this caliber.
– Michael Patrick Brady
Les Savy Fav: www.lessavyfav.com
French Kiss: www.frenchkissrecords.com