Though Full House yuckster Joey Gladstone made it seriously uncool to quote Popeye, this new single from Lightspeed Champion forces me to shout: "Well, blow me down!" The project of former Test Icicle Dev Hynes, Lightspeed Champion shows he's telling the truth when he admitted "this time it's not completely one big joke." If you're familiar with his old band, Hynes and his crew weren't exactly serious about their music, which teetered on parody at times. With Lightspeed Champion, however, Hynes shows he is in fact a talented songwriter and doesn't need to rely on the rackety noise that kept Test Icicles going one-year strong. This new single features the wig-clad songsmith in duet mode, singing his heart out with sincerity that would have made his last band break up even sooner. His vocal chops are impressively melodic, largely thanks to the kind female dropping harmonies in a duet. But perhaps the nicest surprise is how sublime the arrangement is: lush strings, softly plucked guitars and not a hint of discordance. Plus the video has "muppets" swarming the set.
Lightspeed Champion "Galaxy Of The Lost"
Lightspeed Champion "Galaxy Of The Lost"
