Credit: Found On Internet

Okay, let’s get all that shit that’s been regurgitated in every other review, out of the way right at the start:

Lightspeed Champion sounds nothing like Dev Hynes’ last band, the noisome Test Icicles.

Every magazine and their mother mentioned Lightspeed Champion in their ‘ones-to-watch for 2008’ features.

Every man and his monkey, from Farris Rotter of The Horrors to Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys has collaborated with him live, and he’s got Emmy The Great and a load of other semi-‘name’ people contributing to this, his debut record.

Now we’ve got all that old bollocks out the way, can we actually talk about the music now? Thanks.

After an intro that peddles licks that sound suspiciously twee and nu-country, Hynes' album-opener proper, ‘Galaxy of the Lost’ is equal parts ye-haw twang and earnest little piano lines. Maybe that country edge stems from the recording of the album, in Nebraska, but there’s a definite feeling of cool mornings in slightly grotty north-London student-ish digs to this record.

There’s no denying the boy has a sharp tongue for both lyrics and song titles. While‘Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk’ and its accompanying lines “Come over, I just got the new OC, and if they can sort their problems out, why can’t I get out the house?” looks clunky and clumsy when I type it out, but in the context of the song, it rolls out my stereo speakers smoother than the head of Duncan Goodhew after he’s been mugged by Mr Sheen. Whether it’s the lowing maudlinism he displays of ‘I Could Have Done This Myself’, or the details of the morning from hell in ‘Devil Tricks For A Bitch’, Hynes has a touching depth to his voice that is so earnest it would be irritating if I didn’t think he meant every urge and inflection.

I know I should like this. All those glossy magazine supplements say I should. All those cooler-than-I-can-ever-be websites are fawning over this record. But it’s washed over me somewhat, lacking that necessary bite to leave a mark after its passing. Dare I say it – it could be just a little bit too twee. But that could just be this reviewer’s rock’n’roll soul being obstinate - make no mistake, ‘Falling Off The Lavender Bridge’ is not only a phenomenally well-crafted record, but an incredibly beautiful one too. There’s no other word that feels anyway half as apt as that to describe it.