Pitchfork

Oh heck yes! Sorry I can't be more eloquent at the moment, but for obvious reasons, a string of curse words (each followed by "YES!" of course) sprang to mind when Les Savy Fav bassist Syd Butler revealed exclusively to Pitchfork that LSF are not dead and are in fact READYING A NEW ALBUM!!!!1 Feels good, don't it?

After 2005's semi-hiatus, talk of Rabbit Trancing, and a slew of mini-releases (the digital EP, limited edition 7"s, etc.), Les Savy Fav are ready to slip into their goddamn-this-band-is-awesome uniforms and get back in the game.

Pitchfork spoke with bassist Syd Butler today about the past, the present, and what's yet to come.

First of all, Rabbit Trancing, a long rumored-about compilation of quiet material and studio experiments, has been called off. Butler explained, "We just got so excited from going to Australia and the Pitchfork festival last year and playing rock songs again that it felt more comfortable to just go back and write new stuff rather than just releasing just noise and practice tapes."

The record Les Savy Fav are working on now does not feature any of the tracks originally intended for Rabbit Trancing, nor any 7" tunes. It's 100% new, and will reflect where the band's at now, which, judging by Butler's enthusiasm, is a place so cool it makes Discovery Zone look like a firepit in comparison.

"We've started practicing, and we have time booked in a studio in three weeks. We'll be recording it with Chris Zane at Gigantic Studios, and then hopefully it'll come out in the spring by SXSW time," Butler said. "We have practice tonight, and it's our third or fourth practice now. We're still trying to decide what it's going to sound like. Is it gonna be a balls-out rock record or is it gonna have some of the more quiet stuff?"

LSF's charismatic frontman Tim Harrington has already prepared lyrics for the as-of-yet untitled effort. According to Butler, this process is a little abnormal ("Usually the lyrics come after, where we're just in the studio banging stuff out and then Tim's rushing to come up with lyrics"), but the point of the hiatus in the first place was to break routine, so all is well in the Les Savy lair.

The record's sound is clearly still in the works, though Butler commented on the weirdness of performing quiet music live. In addition, he mentioned the LP might take a dub route: "I've been listening to so much dub lately, so some of my basslines might be super sparse and dubbed out."

The record, ideally slated for a March or April release, may feature guitar and drum guest contributions from friends of the group.

Finally, and most importantly, "This is definitely gonna happen. We don't want people to think we're aloof or pulling someone's leg. We've booked the time. We know that we're going in November to record it, and we're freaking out and really excited about it."

So are we, Syd. So are we.