Lightspeed Champion
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge (Domino)
Reviewed by Greg Beets, Fri., March 7, 2008
Lightspeed Champion
Falling Off the Lavender Bridge (Domino)Note to those turning themselves inside out for a grand musical statement: Be articulate and compelling. On his Domino solo debut as Lightspeed Champion, Houston-born ex-Test Icicles principal Dev Hynes abandons spastic London dance-punk for the worst excesses of Saddle Creek. Recording in Omaha, Neb., with members of Bright Eyes, the Faint, and Tilly & the Wall, Hynes' shift into elaborate, string-laden indie-folk is itself a profound gesture, but repetitive melodies and inscrutable melodrama undermine the mission. Songs like "Tell Me What It's Worth" are nice without going anywhere, and metaphors with as much potential as "Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk" get mired in forlorn wordiness. As it stands, Bridge resembles Conor Oberst working without an internal edit button. (Wednesday, March 12, Antone's, 10pm.)
