Lightspeed Champion - Tell Me What It's Worth (Domino)
UK release date: 14 January 2007
Anyone expecting something akin to Dev Hynes' (aka Lightspeed Champion) previous band, Test Icicles, is going to be seriously disappointed. Angular, agitate pop-punk this is not. What it is however, is a well crafted slice of Americana influenced, acoustic pop, dripping with the dry humour and serious message that Hynes has shown in most of his song writing so far.
Tell Me What It's Worth has more than a hint of the 'Saddle Creek Sound', epitomised by bands like Bright Eyes orThe Good Life: emotional yet uplifting acoustic guitar led creations, unsurprising considering that their producer, Mike Mogis ,helped to record Lightspeed Champion's upcoming album.
It's not the best thing on the album, but as a snapshot of the new direction Hynes and his new band are pointed towards, it does exactly what it should do. It tells you that he's worth a listen at least.