Les Savy Fav's latest post-punk offering is a little different from their previous work, yet the key elements that ripped holes through your soul in The Cat and the Cobra and 3/5 managed to survive.
Rome (Written Upside Down) is their first attempt recording since the disappearance of their second guitarist, Gibb Slife. You would think losing a guitarist would hinder the spirit of a band, but Les Savy Fav is not the type of band to shed tears. Although the second guitar is noticeably missing, Les Savy Fav now had the proper ingredients to create a less cluttered and more dynamic EP. Various keyboard parts and studio effects replace the absent guitar and provides for a different feel than the typical Les Savy Fav.
It is easier to distinguish the instruments with the second guitar missing. The drums are thick and in-your-face and the guitar and bass are more prominent than before. Tim Harrington's raspy vocals slice through the intense driving music and displays growth since Cat and the Cobra. Sometimes it sounds a bit separated, but the music is still as strong as ever "I.C. Timer" sets the appropriate mood of the album, while "Asleeper's Union" gives us insight into the band's maturity.
Clocking in at under 20 minutes, these five songs present you with a stunning array of dynamics, unique chord progressions, and complex time signatures. The raw production of the album ignites the album even further. You can feel Les Savy Fav's intensity which was sometimes harder to feel in the past.
Yes, this album is merely baby steps from their earlier works, but Les Savy Fav have still managed to create a moving record that will provide the beginning of the bridge from post-punk to post-post-punk. Think of this album as Les Savy Fav with less teeth, but the teeth they have left provide for a meaner, more influential bite.
1. I.C. Timer
2. Asleepers Union
3. In These Woods
4. Hide Me from Next February
5. Rome
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