Pitchfork

One of Les Savy Fav's greatest attributes is the subtle interplay that occurs between their lyrics and song structures, and "The Sweat Descends" exemplifies this beautifully. The melody here cleverly evokes the song title and refrain, its notes scaling downward in emulation of the song's titular perspiration. The band offers the first hint of this in the echoing guitar stabs that open the track, just as the band's insanely tight rhythm section kicks in. What they're not letting on is that the song is actually one big slope: After two verses and a playful bridge, the initial downward trickle increases exponentially, and by the end of the first verse it has genuinely begun to pour.

The song's second verse and cascading finale maintain a similar structure, as guitarist Seth Jabour delves in with a much thicker sound and Harrington keeps in step with some great, mortally tinged imagery. Here, with Les Savy Fav in full stride, the song really begins to skid along its incline, with Jabour elaborating on the quick riff he came up with in the song's bridge. If the first chorus resembled a rainfall, the final minute is an absolute torrent, climaxing with Harrington repeatedly exhorting listeners to "meet me where the sweat descends." If you've ever spent a summer night in the front row at one of the band's shows, you can almost feel him splattering your shirt.