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
Rovi
すっかり音楽界のお笑い芸人化している(!?)ヒゲおじさんことティム・ハリントン率いる5人組のニュー・アルバム。これがライヴ仕様の汗臭いポスト・パンク作品に。メロディアスでいて超絶技巧を繰り広げるツイン・ギター、地響きレヴェルのパワフルなドラムとベース、そしてティムのハイエナジーな歌唱がリスナーをアゲまくり!流石はヴェテラン!といった快作で、プロレスの名勝負を観たような清々しさが味わえます。
bounce (C)小泉いな子
タワーレコード(vol.326(2010年10月25日発行号)掲載)