Friday, December 21, 2007

Les Savy Fav

2007 The Year of Les Savy Fav!


Named # 7 in Top 100 Albums of the Year in Metacritic
http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2007.shtml

Received Plug Award Nomination for Best Indie Rock Album
http://www.plugawards.com/general_vote.php

Let’s Stay Friends Receives Universal Praise & Reaches CMJ Top 10 / Out Now on Frenchkiss Records

With the release of Let’s Stay Friends (out now on Frenchkiss Records), indie art rock mainstays Les Savy Fav set 2007 on fire with one the of catchiest, boldest and most exhilarating album’s of the year. And to prove it, they have now been honored with a nomination for Best Indie Rock Album in the 2008 Plug Awards and named #7 in the Top 100 Albums Of The Year in prestigious Metacritic.com year-end list. The fab five are also tearing up the charts at CMJ, reaching Top 10 of CMJ 200 with their debut single “Patty Lee.” In celebrating the end of a fantastic year for the Fav’s, Syd Butler & Seth Jabour will be DJing The Boosted/Boost Mobile’s Holiday Party with Peter Bjorn & John and Justin Miller from DFA this Wednesday December 5th at the Darkroom. And don’t forget there are 2 shows left in 2007, the El Rey Theatre on the 15th in LA and the not to miss New Year’s Extravaganza at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom. Not to worry US, they will be returning for more shows in 2008!

200
12/31 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

2008 (So Far)
1/18 Dallas, TX The Loft
1/19 Austin, TX Emo's

Les Savy Fav is Tim Harrington (vocals), Seth Jabour (guitar), Syd Butler (bass) and Harrison Haynes (drums). It has been nearly 6 years since Les Savy Fav has released a full album of new material. Finding their place in music has resulted in the new full length entitled Let's Stay Friends.

Since forming in 1995, Les Savy Fav has grown into a band considered among the godfathers of the independent rock music scene, releasing three albums (3/5 in 1997, The Cat &The Cobra in 1999, Go Forth in 2001) and a singles compilation (Inches in 2004) that resulted in sales of over 70,000 copies worldwide. Their constant success can be attributed to the overseeing of every aspect of their music including the release of it. Bassist and Co-founder Syd Butler started the Frenchkiss Record label with the goal in mind to release their own records. The achievement of these records has helped Frenchkiss put out amazing music from other equally impressive artists like the Hold Steady,Thunderbirds Are Now, Call Me Lightning and more!

Let's Stay Friends is a record about Les Savy Fav's unwillingness to give up. It's a resolution to defy the forces which wear away at our innocence and enthusiasm. As musicians, the record declares their ultimate goals of being together, writing, and performing on their own terms, loosed from the thicket of the professional independent music business which has grown up all around them. From it's first track- “Pots & Pans” to "Patty Lee" to its last "The Lowest Bitter,” Let's Stay Friends consistently explores the challenges of keeping sight of ones true nature of a rapidly shifting world. The band’s approach to music in relation to changes it has witnessed in the music scene extends into a sophisticated metaphor all people can relate to about how we marry the consistent with the inconsistent.

The idea for this new record was to take time with it to make it perfect. The whole band (particularly guitarist Seth's Jabour's) musicianship and style developed and matured in their hiatus from the studio and everyone wanted to make sure they took time to leverage the ideas and enthusiasm that were pent up. Starting in the end of 2006 and going for a few months, old friend and recording partner Chris Zane was called in to help produce and engineer the recording at Gigantic Studios in New York City. Early in the writing process the band asked guitarist Andrew Reuland, a friend since before there was a band, to collaborate on many of the songs on the record. In addition to Andrew, a number of notable musicians were brought in- Eleanor Friedberger from the Fiery Furnaces sings a duet with Tim, Nicholas Thorburn from Islands/Unicorns does some back up, ALL the members of Enon make appearances, SNL's Fred Armisen plays drums on “Pots & Pans” and “Patty Lee,” Emily Haines from Metric plays piano and Joe Plummer from Modest Mouse/The Black Heart Procession adds drumming that helped to expand the overall sound. The result is a record brimming with Les Savy Fav energy and with a production and sound that is developed to a new level of sophistication and splendor.

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