Les Savy Fav - Root For Ruin [LP - Aqua]

Les Savy Fav have been underground indie-rock darlings for forever. This is as much a consequence of singer Tim Harrington's eccentric onstage antics as their DIY ethos - all but one of their albums have been released on bassist Syd Butler's Frenchkiss Records. After a decade and a half, which includes a year-long hiatus, the 5-piece release a 5th studio album which may just catapult them into the big leagues. Root For Ruin comes complete with the Fugazi-inspired post-hardcore quirks of previous LSF offerings. As a general rule song structures are consciously more straightforward, except for midpoint 'Poltergeist', the result being greater accessibility for the uninitiated. There are elements borrowed from more commercially successful artists; guitars reminiscent of the Pixies, backing vocals veering towards Weezer territory and offbeat instrumentation that wouldn't feel out of place on a Modest Mouse record. Still, the band have not relinquished their edginess entirely and there are plenty of moments where you can feel the tension rising.