Falling Off The Lavender Bridge - Lightspeed Champion Album Review

Photo By:Jessica Byrne

Album Review

Ex - Test Icicle guitarist forms new band, with surprising results.

I say surprising because of some of his previous collaborations haven't exactly spawned great results.

Devonte Hynes' seems to have found his mojo with new musical venture Lightspeed Champion, which is far removed from his former band, the daft electro-punk trio Test Icicles. This time around Hynes pushes the boundaries with an eclectic set of songs. Armed with new material, he set off to work in Omaha Nebraska in early 2007, where he recruited Bright Eyes' Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis who also plays, along with local musicians Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes) guest vocalist Emma Lee Moss aka Emmy The Great, a London based singer-songwriter, and a few moonlighters. Not really happy with TI's music, he's now freed himself to become a maverick following his diverse musical tastes that take in Broadway musicals, Hip-Hop, Thrash Punk, and Country, which he's probably absorbed on his journey from Houston (born) to Essex (raised) and now Dalston (based). This is very much a freewheeling album beginning with the exquisite country-tinged ballad and appropriately titled Number One, a 23 second instrumental intro to Galaxy Of The Lost, released as a single last year, is adorned with melancholic vocals, fiddle and dollops of divine pedal steel. All To S*** has shades of Beatles Eleanor Rigby and classical overtones crammed into just over a minute. Dropping back to his country template, the cool and groovy epic Midnight Surprise is laced with more subtle pedal steel, broken by Emmy's stunning vocal drop-in midway only to change direction for the run-in and back again to country shuffle, this time with considerably more gusto, ending with a whopping crescendo right up to under 10 minutes. Vocal and strings are enough for an intro to the witty Devil Tricks For A Bitch but he couldn't help a bit of bass and drums to conclude. If Hynes is looking for a UK breakthrough single, it has to be the jaunty Dry Lips or the equally perky Let The Bitches Die aided by Emmy once again.

File under: Great song writing.

Elly Roberts