Without a proper album release since 2001′s Go Forth and a 2005 hiatus that spawned many a breakup rumor, it’s been a long and trying six years for Les Savy Fav fans. The wait is finally over with the arrival of Let’s Stay Friends, released on the band’s own label (French Kiss) and absolutely bursting with special appearances. Most notable on the guest list are Enon, Emily Haines of Metric, Nicholas Thorburn of Islands, Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces, and even SNL funnyman Fred Armisen handles drumming duties for a couple of songs. While the album title may seem an ironic twist on past speculations of the band’s status, Les Savy Fav declare it an “unwillingness to give up”, calling the album “a resolution to defy the forces which wear away at our innocence and enthusiasm”. It’s a rallying cry to stick together and stick it to the man, the end result being a very solid album. Tim Harrington is unhinged as ever, yet Let’s Stay Friends shows a marked improvement in the band’s overall musicianship.

The autobiographical nature of the album is apparent straight away with the opener “Pots & Pans”: “there was a band called The Pots & Pans/they made this noise that people couldn’t stand/and they toured all across the land/the people say ‘no, no, no’/but the drummer said ‘yes, yes, yes’/this tour is a test“. Never fear, Les Savy Fav fans, as the songs ends with good news – “we’ll tear this whole place down and build it up again/this band’s a beating heart and it’s nowhere near the end“. Harrington proves, on “What Would Wolves Do?”, that he does possess the ability to sing rather than his signature growling & shouting out his lyrics. The most pleasant surprises on Let’s Stay Friends are the incendiary guitar work of Seth Jabour (“The Equestrian”, “Patty Lee”) and the pounding bass lines from Syd Butler (“The Year Before The Year 2000″, “Raging In The Plague Age”).

While the album boasts too many highlights to get into here, there are a couple of missteps. “Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old” is, quite frankly, rather annoying. The track is rife with repetitive lyrics, but that’s not all. I can’t quite put my finger on what truly bothers me about the song, but it’s almost as though the music and the vocals just don’t mesh well. It was not my intention to pan the two songs on the album featuring female vocalists, but the other track that just doesn’t work is “Comes & Goes”, a duet between Harrington and Eleanor Friedberger. To begin with, I just don’t care for Friedberger’s voice; it’s probably the main reason I’ve never latched onto the Fiery Furnaces. Beyond that, it sounds like Les Savy Fav is trying, for one track, to be a band that they’re not. They ditched the punk element for a ballad-y feel that comes off as inorganic and uninteresting.

No worries though, “Scotchgard The Credit Card” and “The Lowest Bitter” pull the album resolutely out of the doldrums and close the affair triumphantly. Let’s Stay Friends was a long six years in the making, reportedly because Les Savy Fav wanted the album to be perfect. Perfect it isn’t, but it’s damn close – a celebratory return to the limelight for our post-punk heroes.
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Links
Les Savy Fav [official site] [myspace] [buy it]