Candid acoustic soul-bearing courtesy of former scenester

Noisenik agitators Test Icicles were one of those infuriatingly faddish industry buzz bands whose short-lived hype frenzy swiftly evaporated once rock journalists ceased to be titillated by their gimmicky moniker. Few mourned when they announced their split in 2006, least of all band member Dev Hynes who claimed that "we were never, ever that keen on the music. I understand that people liked it, but we personally, er, didn't." In short: we pity the fools.

Mercifully, Hyne’s new vehicle Lightspeed Champion are musically unrecognisable from his previous cohorts. Recorded in Omaha, Nebraska with resident Saddle Creek producer Mike Mogis, and backed by moonlighting members of Tilly and the Wall and Cursive, it’s perhaps no surprise to discover a debut album steeped in lush, introspective alt-country, but with a roguish geek pop edge.

Written by Hynes at the age of only 19, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge is a record defined both by its creator’s precocious musical accomplishment and his eyebrow-raising candour. Previous singles Galaxy of the Lost and Tell Me What It’s Worth showcase Lightspeed Champion’s flair for literate, deceptively upbeat folk-pop. And while Emmy the Great’s mellifluous backing vocals help to sugar the pill somewhat, they can’t completely mask the undercurrent of angsty ennui which lurks beneath the surface.

Self-consciously nerdy and unaffected, Hynes presents himself as a reluctant spokesman for a generation grown prematurely jaded. But unlike, say, Alex Turner, whose alienation manifests itself in sneering condescension towards his peers, Hyne’s tone is a broadly sympathetic one. Whereas most of the acclaimed indie rock lyricists du jour favour an impressionistic, abstract approach, Hynes’ style is blunt and deeply personal to the point of crudeness (“wake up smell the semen,” he urges during sprawling, hook-laden 10-minute epic Midnight Surprise, making listeners of a more sensitive disposition nearly choke on their sleeve notes). I Could Have Done this Myself is a frank and comical chronicling of an underwhelming sexual encounter, propelled by a rousing, Arcade Fired-up guitar onslaught. Devil Tricks for A Bitch, with its withering commentary on racial factionalism, is a yearning country lament recalling Conor Oberst at his most emotionally fraught.

It doesn’t all work: Salty Water is slight and forgettable, never really managing to stir from its oblique, ponderous slumber. But we can forgive such minor lapses when treated to such twin delights as Dry Lips and Everyone I Know is Listening to Crunk – the former a shimmering slice of early-REM jangle-pop, the latter a wistful, retro-tinged campfire croon.

Deploying liberal sprinklings of humour and pathos to a tapestry of folksy, homespun musical sophistication, Lavender Bridge is a bruised but big-hearted debut, serving notice on a new and formidable talent from this self-styled musical polymath.

Release date: 21/01/2008
Artist website: www.lightspeedchampion.com
Label: Domino

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