Devonte Hynes used to be a part of the now defunct indie-rock/art-punk band Test Icicles. Since his departure, Hynes as formed a new and completely different band altogether. With Lightspeed Champion, Hynes has found his voice, crafting unique folk-pop songs with a decidedly more realistic tone than that of Test Icicles. With a recent NME cover, Hynes’ new venture seems to be paying off big time.
For the debut album Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, Hynes flew to Omaha, Nebraska to work with Mike Mogis, a prominent collaborator of Conor Oberst’s and resident producer for Saddle Creek Records. The album also features vocalist Emmy The Great, as well as members of The Faint, Cursive, and Tilly & the Wall. On tracks like “Midnight Surprise” and “Tell Me What It’s Worth”, Lightspeed Champion’s songs tell richly-woven personal stories, which Hynes says were inspired both by dreams and reality. Upon listening to the record, it is abundantly clear that this is an extremely autobiographical work. Of the songwriting process, Hynes has said, “I obsess over songwriting to the point where when I listen to music I hear the song rather than the genre”.
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge was released February 5th via Domino Records. For more info on Lightspeed Champion, visit Myspace.
Originally published as part of Buzzworthy at Kevchino.com.
Lightspeed Champion - Galaxy of the Lost (music video)
Lightspeed Champion - Tell Me What It's Worth (music video)
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