Les Savy Fav’s Tim Harrington on being bipolar: “This thing you love can also be the thing that makes you miserable”

nme.com:

Les Savy Fav frontman Tim Harrington has spoken to NME about the band’s return to recording with their new album ‘OUI LSF’, their first in 14 years – and how it was shaped by his bipolar diagnosis.The New York veterans’ sixth LP comes following an extended hiatus, that saw Harrington turn his hand to writing children’s books and getting a “jobby” job as a creative director, while bassist Syd Butler and guitarist Seth Jabour joined the 8G Band (house musicians on the talk show Late Night With Seth Myers), drummer Harrison Haynes focussed on fine art, and guitarist Andrew Reuland worked in film and television as a writer and editor.Harrison, however, alo endured “a rough period with mental health” after being diagnosed with bipolar during the time between Les Savy Fav albums.“I hear a lot of creative people, when they talk about mental health and getting it together and finally getting on meds, they’re like, ‘Oh, [the creativity] is gone, I can’t find it.’ For me, I had to come to the realisation that it’s always there.

I’m always me. It’s kind of cheesy, but sometimes what seems like nothing happening is actually just the absence of a complete fucking tornado,” he said.Although the band returned for occasional live performances during the hiatus from recording, it was only after a show at Primavera Sound in 2022 that things evolved into writing.

With drummer Haynes unable to make the show, the band recruited stand-in Tucker Rule of post-hardcore veterans Thursday who they taught their songs for the first time.“All of a sudden we had someone who hasn’t played the songs and we were spending a lot of time rehearsing in my attic studio.