For The Record: February 2010

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring (Album of the month)
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This
Chew Lips - Unicorn (Review)
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You
Marina and The Diamonds - The Family Jewels (Review)

Also recommended: Pantha Du Prince, Field Music, Lonelady, Former Ghosts, Gil Scott Heron, Massive Attack, Holly Miranda, Xiu Xiu.

For the best of February's MP3's click the link on the right. There you will find free tracks by Yesayer, Little Girls, Yuck and Chris Taylor.

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Lightspeed Champion - 'Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You' track by track guide.

Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion returns on February 8th with his second solo album. Entitled 'Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You the album shows off a sound more developed than Hyne's first album 'Falling Off The Lavender Bridge' but still maintaining a constant emotional angst and melodic emphasis. Here is a sneak peak of what to expect from the album.

1. Dead Head Blues
A down beat opener sees Hynes lamenting the end of a relationship and conjuring up images of the American Mid West through his lyrical narrative. Angry but defeated this feels like a climactic song in a musical so it is interesting that it opens the record, a big guitar solo half way through is the first musical hint that things have moved on from the first Lightspeed album.

2. Marlene
Groove laden pop rock in it's purest form. “Stop being cool” sings Hynes before a rush of strings and soaring guitars elevate the song into the anthemic heavens. Again, this song has the feeling of an abject loss of hope but one that is cutely wrapped up in a way that will have you humming the hooks of for weeks to come.



3. There's Nothing Underwater
Acoustic guitars and violins make this the most immediately recognisable Lightspeed Champion song thus far. A tender and sweet lament along the same lines of longing and loss it's at this point we realise that 'Nice To Meet You!' might not be the chirpy, feel good album it's title suggests.

4. Intermission
A minute and a half of electric piano sounds. Sounds a bit like lift music from a space ship.

5. Faculty Of Fears
A deep bass is the sole accompaniment to a solitary croon before Hynes is joined by the full band ensemble. The most melodically charged song on the album 'Faculty Of Fears' details the events of a particularly disastrous night out and includes the line, “If your heart’s screaming take me home/Then hail a cab and please turn off your phone ”. A sentiment many people will ruefully relate to.

6. The Big Guns Of Highsmith
A face off occurs between Hyne’s maudlin self loathing and an all male choir telling him to “Just stop complaining.” Like something from a musical this song is highly camp and a lot of fun. Handclaps and pianos drive the track along with repeated appearances from the choral voice of reason. Sounds like it would be great live.

7. Romart
Rooted in colloquialism this song namechecks London’s, Dalston Lane. A slow waltz, ‘Romart’ is another example of Hynes comfort with song writing and ability to produce something from special from very little. A melody and a piano are all this album needs to excel.

8. I Don’t Want To Wake Up Alone
The male choir turn up again for this gloriously OTT ballad. Like something from a Richard Curtis movie the sentiment is slushy but undeniable. “If you love me, if you want me, don’t ignore me because I don’t want to wake up alone” is the clarion call for a thousand swaying couples embracing at future Lightspeed gigs.

9. Madam Van Damme
A relatively old song. Having first appeared when Hynes was touring his first album this track was originally called ‘The Prostitute Song’. Speaking from the perspective of a Brazilian lady of the night Hynes urges the anonymous assailant to “Kill me, baby kill me” amidst a world of pain at what she does for a living. A terribly dark song with a chirpy melody running throughout disguising the harsh undertones.

10. Smooth Day
Smooth being the operative word. A slinky, late night jam ‘Smooth Day’ is a cuddly warm blanket after the previous songs foray into the seedy world of vice.

11. Intermission 2
Largely pointless second interlude, some drums clatter and bang with no real purpose.

12. Sweetheart
Something of a hoedown occurs as ‘Life Is Sweet!’ approaches it’s final breaths. Conjuring up images of the Wild West and gun slinging cowboys ‘Sweetheart’s jaunty rhythms and slide guitar show more experimentation from a song writer who commendably can’t sit still.

13. Etude Op. 3
At a pretty substantial fifteen tracks long this record is not for the casual listener. Having said that with filler like this on it the album could have been shorn some of it’s extensive running time. A nice enough idea but really instrumental piano work outs like this add nothing to proceedings.

14. Middle Of The Dark
A noodling but impressive song. Lacking the melody or sentiment of tracks earlier on in the running but still displaying the exemplary song writing that runs throughout this album.

15. A Bridge and A Goodbye
A peaceful piano waves over this final piece of music as the album bids it’s fond farewell. Best recommended to be listened to as a whole rather than in fragments ‘Life Is Sweet, Nice To Meet You’ is a well written, bold and confident step forward for Dev Hynes. Lets not forget, just a few years ago this was a guy leaping around the stage dressed in fluorescent bicycle shorts in a band who’s name was a pun on the word testicles. Times have well and truly changed.

‘Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You’ is released via Domino on February 15th.

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Marlene

Enjoy Lightspeed Champions tribute to 'Only Fools and Horses' Boycie.

I'm listening to the new Lightspeed album as I type, it's bat shit mental in parts, heart swelling in others- I'm sure you'll love it

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Albums To Be Excited About In 2010

Artist: Vampire Weekend
Title: 'Contra'
Due Date: January 11th
What Can We Expect? From the songs aired at their KCLSU gig and those recently played on US TV a lot more of the same. Big Summer time hooks, off kilter instrumentation and Ezra Koenig's detailed musings and introspections on his life.
Free Download: 'Horchata'


Artist: Los Campesinos!
Title: 'Romance Is Boring'
Due Date: February 1st
What Can We Expect? Word going around is that this is LC!'s masterpiece. Having grown vastly between their shrill but charming debut and it's follow up 'We Are Beautiful...' this much derided but woeful misunderstood band are turning out to be one of the most intriguing and forward thinking bands around. New single 'There Are Listed Buildings' feels like a condensed version of everything that makes the band great. With a new band member, guest spots from Xiu Xiu and Parenthetical Girls alongside the best album title going this could be an early contender for album of the year.
Free Download: 'The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future'



Artist: Lightspeed Champion
Title: 'Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You'
Due Date: February 1st
What Can We Expect? Produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley) the second Lightspeed Champion album is set to be a more upbeat and life affirming effort than the depressed escapism of Dev Hyne's debut. Song subjects include much talk of England (Hynes now lives in New York) including a prostitute from Dalston and indie girls from Hackney.


Artist: These New Puritans
Title: 'Hidden'
Due Date: January 18th
What Can We Expect? Lazy bastards will probably liken this album to 'Doing a Horrors' and entirely missing the point that TNP have always been amazing. Nothing has been heard of 'Hidden' yet but expect big big drums, itchy paranoia and the sound of Mark E. Smith being dragged through the back streets of London at midnight.


Artist: Yesayer
Title: 'Odd Blood'
Due Date: February 8th
What Can We Expect? If 'Ambling Alp' is anything to go by an astonishing and baffling piece of brilliance is in the pipeline. Chris Keating showed the world via Simian Mobile Disco that he is a warped genius and that he can turn his hand to anything. Reports coming from recent Yeasayer gigs have told of a brand new sound whilst the bands percussive work on Bat For Lashes 'Two Suns' bodes well for a dance orientated dose of psychedelic pop.
Free Download: 'Ambling Alp'


Artist: Field Music
Title: "Untitled due to practical reasons" whatever that means.
Due Date: February 15th
What Can We Expect? A 20 track double album from the brothers Brewis. Expect head bending melodies, fragile heart break and probably cameos from The Futureheads.
Free Download: 'Measure'


Artist: The Kills
Title: Nothing yet...
Due Date: Early- Mid 2010
What Can We Expect? Speaking to Alison Mosshart recently she said, "Me and Jamie probably have about twelve or thirteen songs written now. The way we work is on acoustic guitars but the whole thing totally changes when we programme in the drums so whatever it sounds like now I know the end product will be nothing like it currently is. I’m hoping it will be out in early to middle of 2010 if we can get things sorted after Christmas.”


Artist: Christina Aguilera
Title: Untitled
Due Date: Tbc
What Can We Expect? This could be amazing or awful. Working with a glitterati of names including M.I.A, Goldfrapp, Ladytron and Sia the 'Dirrty' star is certainly pushing the pop envelope and I can't wait to hear the results. Danny from Ladytron first spoke about working with Aguilera a good few years ago so the chances of hearing this album any time soon might be hopeful but fingers crossed it comes out this year and doesn't sound like a bad Lady GaGa rip-off.

Also due next year:

LCD Soundsystem (Jame Murphy is prepping this for March)
Mystery Jets (Recently showcased new tracks to journalists)
Liars- Sisterworld
The National
Hot Chip
FourTet- 'There Is Love In You'
Errors- 'Come Down With Me'
Foals (Recording now)
MGMT- Celebration
Friendly Fires (Recently spoke of wanting it out for next years festivals)
Kele Okereke (Recording w/ Hudson Mohawke + Armani XXXChange)
Crystal Castles
Blood Red Shoes
Battles
Klaxons (In studio w/ Rick Robinson)
Radiohead(Maybe!)
Deftones

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New music from Them Crooked Vultures/ Lightspeed Champion

Music from two albums I can't wait to hear came out today.

First up is the Grohl/ Homme/ Zep collaboration which has bore it's fruits and given us 'Mind Eraser, No Chaser' ahead of their debut album which comes out v.soon. I fell so fast, so hard for this band when I saw them supporting Arctic Monkeys- the loudest show I've ever been to (but I am a wimp). I'm sure you'll love them too.

MP3: Them Crooked Vultures- 'Mind Eraser. No Chaser'

After that is a teaser video from Lightspeed Champion. I'm certain that Dev's next album will be just as great as his first. Entitled 'Life Is Sweet, Nice To Meet You' the video below is for the track 'Marlene' which is the 'song about a prostitute' which has been a mainstay of the Lightspeed live show for well over a year now.

Enjoy!

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MY TURN

One of the best (only) songs on Basement Jaxx's latest effort comes from Ex test-Icicle current Lightspeed/ Orange Dev Hynes. The heavily Kanye influenced video has been blogged about by.. well Kanye West. The man never pretended he doesn't have an ego. Watch this and try forget the awful Basement Jaxx/ Sam Sparro track.

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Blood Orange

In terms of side projects and unofficial material Dev Hynes must be amongst the most prolific in the game right now. His accumulative discography would dwarf acts who have been around twice as long and he's launched yet another project. Blood Orange is a lo-fi lounge pop outfit, not a million miles from Lightspeed Champion but one that reigns in that latters alt.country tendencies. In traditional Dev style a track has already been given away for free. 'Said No' is a spooky and sparse stream of conscious that showcases delicate vocals and a whole load of interesting guitar work. On his blog Dev says that a Blood Orange album is due after the release of the second Lightspeed Champion record which is all recorded and ready to go later this year.

Scale of achievement for Dev Hyne's musical projects.

'Circle. Square. Triangle'>>>>'Heart In A Cage cover>>>>> Lightspeed Champion>>>>> everything else Test-Icicles did>>>>> Greeen Day covers EP ft. Florence>>>>>>> The 2 covers albums>>>>Blood Orange>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 'House Sitting Songs' and the album he wrote and recorded in a day.

It's a very large and varied collection of work.


Download: 'Said No'
Blood Orange Myspace

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Lightspeed Champion Studio Diary. Pt. 2

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First acts for Great Escape 2009 announced

British Sea Power
The Big Pink
Holy Fuck
Little Boots
The Chapman Family
Passion Pit
Lightspeed Champion
Metronomy
The Handsome Family
Future Of The Left
Johnny Foreigner
Danananakroyd
The Joy Formidable
Chew Lips
To The Bones
Kasms
Your Twenties
Esser
Pulled Apart By Horses
The Soft Pack
Cage The Elephant
Kissy Sellout
The Pipettes
VV Brown
Let's Wrestle
Official Secrets Act
Televised Crimewave
Golden Silvers
Ben Kweller
Beth Jeans Houghton
Micachu And The Shapes
The Invisible
Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man.
It Hugs Back
Screaming Tea Party
Artefacts for Space Travel
Vivian Girls
The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart
The Miserable Rich
Woodpigeon
Beast
A Grave With No Name
Yves Klein Blue
The John Steel Singers
Middle Class Rut
The Arkells
An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump
Fanzine
Cassie And The Casettes

Kasabian will headline one night of the event with more acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

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Album Of The Year #2- Lightspeed Champion: Falling Off The Lavender Bridge

This could have been so bad. Ex Test-Icicle Dev Hynes adopts a new moniker and departs for Omaha to record a record of folk-pop with Mike Mogis and assorted Saddle Creek members. He practically bent over and invited the critics to do their worst. However from the precipice of potential disaster came one of the most intricate and wonderful albums of the year. The songs that make up this album are instant classics, simple but dazzling sing along acoustic gems. Essentially a break up record Dev deals with the fall out of it and the moving on process with heart-aching honesty and dark introspection throughout. Emmy the Great interjects her sweet vocals against the honeyed gravel vocals of Hynes creating a harmonious sound throughout. Listening back to this so long after it came out it still sounds as fresh as when it was released. A sign of a great album.

'Midnight Surprise'

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