This band pretty much defines the “post hardcore” genre in that they seem to take many of the great elements of hardcore – wild energy and rocking guitars -- and mix them with angular dance rock to make a nuanced and unique sound that is very listenable. It’s still edgier than your standard Drive By Truckers song, but it’s not a brutal as, say, Agnostic Front. So if Joy Division is “post punk” then Les Savy Fav is “post hardcore” and I love that these guys channel 80s hardcore and punk and 90s indie rock to make this perfect mix of rock n roll for 2009.
“’Patty Lee, turn the lights on, please.There's something I don't understand.Patty Lee, turn the lights on please.This party's gotten out of hand.’Those were the last words her suitor spoke before he croaked.In seven seconds he'd be dead, tied to the headboard of Pattie Lee's bed.” “Patty Lee” is Les Savy Fav’s version of a dance / rock song, and it outdoes any other dance rock song of the decade, in my opinion. People will cite “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand or some other crappy Killers song, but the reality is that “Patty Lee” gets things to a very unique and awesome place without abandoning the aforementioned “post hardcore” aesthetic. The lead guitar is unlike anything in rock n roll today, Tim Harrington’s lead man antics are way, way out there and they have a bunch of unique, kick ass songs to back everything up. Les Savy Fav made one of the decade’s best albums when they recorded Lets’ Stay Friends -- an eclectic collection of great rock songs that doesn’t so much as genre hop as “style hop” – and “Patty Lee” is the centerpiece of the whole record. A must-have.
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