In mid-2007, Dev Hynes, formerly one third of indie-hip-hop-thrash-metal-punkers Test-Icicles bounced back onto the scene with the single Galaxy Of The Lost. A world away from the sound of his previous band, this record had much more in common with the introverted strummings of Ryan Adams and Bright Eyes than, well, the sound of a dozen guitars smashing up a roomful of Atari 2600s. A lament on the singer's physical inability to drink, due to a billion ailments and health complaints, soothed only by the object of his affection, performed over a bed of swooning country guitars and Emmy The Great on backing vocals (more on her in the next blog post, or maybe the one after that), the single and a whole host of downloadable demos hosted by Dev on his own website would set the tone for the album that followed 6 months on.
The record itself, although sounding calmer to the ear, was just as adventurous as Test-Icicles' release, moving from Devil Tricks For A Bitch, a four minute, strings drenched croak in which the singer rants about wallowing in his room for days with only a guitar for company, to the ten minute epic, Midnight Suprise, a dreamy, cascading tune, supposedly written about The Legend Of Zelda. As the music meandred from indie pop, to lush orchestral arrangements however, the lyrical themes revolved mainly around Hynes' geek rock universe of Weezer, emotional awkwardness, and comic books.
When promotional duties for the album ended, Hynes took off again to the US, where the record had been previously written and recorded, and it's currently unsure whether another Lightspeed Champion record will be released. So, for the time being, make the most of this one!
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