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Les Savy Fav :: "What Would Wolves Do"From Let's Stay Friends (Frenchkiss; 2007)
So often is Les Savy Fav's music discussed in terms of how entertaining it is to watch Tim Harrington's onstage shenanigans and yet so rarely is it mentioned how this almost prematurely and automatically handicaps so much of their material, relegates it to shadow status in comparison. Even this, one of their more instantly gratifying songs, which opens with the kind of melodies and contemplation usually underlined in the band's penchant for dissonance and screams, tightly controlled and almost power pop, is overshadowed by the image of Harrington in tin foil hat and undies, singing into an audience member's foot or pouring beer over his head.
The song meanders, but not exactly in an adventurous way. Where one expects elevation to a soaring chorus, the song takes a left turn. The dynamics remain almost identical, with neither dip nor peak, but gets lost in alcoves and alleyways of its own choosing. Strangely, even though this is less than satisfying one feels that it's okay: this will probably slay live. And with that, the band may finally be writing with their live show in mind. Rather than try to match the energy and comedy of their stage act, the band finds newfound freedom in tensely layered production and counterintuitive arrangements. Go Forth (2001) periodically attempted this, but soon fell to the temptation of a standard chorus, something that would never match seeing it live. "What Would Wolves Do" resists the urge, explores the new freedom the studio as a different experience affords. It's not the Les Savy Fav we're used to, though it will seem at first that it is. It's a restraint that will be kept for moment you're hit in the face with one of Harrington's sweat-soaked sponges.
That a band as resilient and experienced as Les Savy Fav should possess duality shouldn't surprise, but it will. For a band so beloved, it will be interesting to see the reactions from people who most want to see the one-dimensional aspect of the band's sensationalism preserved. "Wolves" isn't exactly challenging stuff. And it isn't exactly a career statement, the expectation for which is occasionally expressed (or imposed on Inches [2004]). But it also isn't exactly the Les Savy Fav we know and love.
Danny Roca :: 28 July 2007 |
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