Lightspeed Champion: Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
Dev Hynes brings melodic alt.country to the fore.
Monday, 21, Jan 2008 10:55
Domino, out January 21st.
In a nutshell...
Soul-edged alt.country.
What's it all about?
This debut album from the fantastically-named Lightspeed Champion, which conjures up images of 70s Japanese cartoon shows with feathery sideburn-sporting heroes and massive explosions, is essentially one man and his guitar, and his chums, offering 12 gems of 21st century troubadour pop with a tip of the hat to the musical exuberance of REM.
The album was recorded in America and had its' fair share of travails. For the full story, click here to read The Buzz.
Who's it by
Lightspeed Champion is 21-year-old Dev Hynes, formerly of noise-punks Test Icicles, a band who left their mark on Shoreditch fashionistas.
As Lightspeed Champion, Hynes has composed an album that combines older material with songs penned while on a transatlantic flight, covering relationships and insecurity, both of which fit nicely into the record's alt.country posturing.
Hynes called in friends such as Emmy The Great and Martin Bignall from The Train Chronicles when he was recording the LP in Omaha. Hynes reported that he's pleased with the album and people can expect two more albums from Lightspeed Champion.
As an example...
"Some time in the cold night my phone rings/but it's not you." - Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Falling Off The Lavender Bridge should act as a wake-up call at chez Grammy, and by the time the second album soaks into our collective conscience I can envision Hynes being suitably honoured.
What the others say
"It doesn't shout and scream into listeners' attention; instead it drifts on by slowly, allowing admirers to hop on and off as and when the fancy takes them." - Drowned In Sound.com
"The debut album from Dev Hynes is all warm, dreamy melodia until you listen to Hynes' lyrics and unravel the pent-up emotion bubbling underneath." - BBC
So is it any good?
It may be classified as alt.country but it owes a lot to the intensely emotional tales that comprise traditional country and western music, albeit with an exquisitely English sense of elegance and mistrust that adds spice to the melodic feast on offer here.
This feeling flows through tracks such as Midnight Surprise and I Could Have Done This Myself, like a depth charge lurking in a calm lake. Hynes' vocals, superb throughout the album, really excel on Salty Water and Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk, two songs that make you shiver.
As enjoyable as it is, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge feels like a work in progress with a nagging ache that with a little more time spent writing material it could have been truly great. However, with two more albums planned there's every chance of Lightspeed Champion attaining said greatness.
8 /10
Lee Davis