Les Savy Fav
Tim Harrington sings, Seth Jabour plays the guitar, Syd Butler looks after the bass and Harrison Haynes hits drums. When these people do those things in the same place at the same time, they make the music of Les Savy Fav. And after a six year break from recording, they’re finally back.
It was twelve years ago that Les Savy Fav first got together after meeting at Rhode Island School of Design, and ten years ago that they first released an album – ‘3/5’ in 1997. They’d follow it with ‘The Cat & The Cobra’ in ’99, ‘Go Forth’ in ’01 and a singles compilation, ‘Inches’, in 2004. Despite claiming to have been ‘missing out on cashing in for over a decade’, they managed to sell 100,000 records worldwide. Not bad for a band whose live shows would see their balding, bearded singer strip down to his underpants, draw whiskers on his face and march round the crowd all but naked during many of their legendary live shows.
The band pay a huge amount of attention to detail when it comes to releasing their music, bassist Syd Butler starting up the Frenchkiss records label in order to ensure they’d have complete control over the look and sound of everything to do with Les Savy Fav (pronounced lay-SAH-vee-FAHV, so’s you know). Braching out, the label has since put out records by the likes of The Hold Steady and Thunderbirds are Now.
After announcing one of those ‘hiatus’ things in mid 2005, Les Savy Fav became the first band to ever survive one (Pavement, At The Drive-In, we’re waiting!) when they started recording again in 2006, after a few rapturously received reformation shows. Heck, there ain’t never been an LSF show that’s been anything other than rapturously received. Their new record, knowingly titled ‘Let’s Stay Friends’, documents the process of trying to remain one of the world’s best bands in the face of adversity.
**COMING SOON!** - Rockfeedback spent a fascinating afternoon with Les Savy Fav singer Tim Harrington. We asked three questions, he talked for an hour and a half. And even included his theory on what happened to Madeleine McCann. We’ll print however much of it we can possibly get away with very soon.
LESSAVYFAV.COM: We’re not saying you should spend a lot of time here, it’s impossible – it’s just a nice picture of the new record cover, and a sign telling you to ‘GO AWAY’. It does however point you in the direction of…
MYSPACE.COM/LESSAVYFAV: …which has four LSF tracks to stream, inclusive of the classic ‘The Sweat Descends’, new single ‘The Equestrian’ and the killer ‘Patty Lee’, which has been in our heads ever since we heard it.
FRENCHKISSRECORDS.COM: The band’s own website also directs you to this page ahead of supplying any content of their own. Fair enough, it’s their own label after all, and the seven tracks to listen to and video to watch should keep you busy for a while.
SOUTHERN RECORDS: Southern, who do the distribution for pretty much everyone good ever, also has a lot to say about our band of the week. Check out the discography, then kick yourself for not having all of it.
LIVE @ ATP DECEMBER 2005: At which Tim Harrington, LSF singer, pours a bottle of wine down Rockfeedback editor Tom Hannan’s throat before even playing a note.
LIVE @ ATP DECEMBER 2005: At which Tim Harrington, LSF singer, strips and has a haircut on stage in front of Rockfeedback scribe Chris O’Toole’s very eyes before even playing a note.
WHAT WOULD WOLVES DO / THE YEAR BEFORE THE YEAR 2000: A precursor to new LP ‘Let’s Stay Friends’.
THE SWEAT DESCENDS:
PATTY LEE:
WE’LL MAKE A LOVER OF YOU (LIVE):