We are the Lightspeed Champions, my friends

Published on Thursday 17 January 2008 19:36

CITING musicals and camp film classics as influences, while confessing to obsession with US teen drama The OC is not quite what you expect to hear from a music industry cool-lister tipped to be among the year's big names.

That man is Dev Hynes, who used to be in London underground punk/indie/ dance/whatever sensations Test Icicles, and has now reinvented himself as an urban folk artist, under the Lightspeed Champion moniker.

"I obsess over song-writing to the point where when I listen to music I hear the song rather than the genre," explains the 21-year-old, who says his last band were founded for a joke and broke up after it had gone too far.

Test Icicles, for those who don't remember them, were a trio who caused a brief wave of excitement on the underground scene in 2005, before calling it quits the following year.

"We weren't doing it for money or to be famous, so when the music stopped being fun we moved on," explains Hynes, whose new outfit pops into Fopp's Rose Street store today, ahead of releasing debut album Falling Off The Lavender Bridge on Monday.

"We didn't want to cheat people, especially as it was the kids who were into it," adds the singer.

So Hynes' heart wasn't in it, which comes as little surprise when you consider his tastes.

"The first music that I was into was musicals – stuff like Hair and the Rocky Horror film," he smiles.

"Those songs had a big effect on me. And I'm an unashamedly huge country fan. My aunt in Houston always played the country stations. I'm out of date with the indie bands, though I still listen to quite a lot of hip-hop."

Hynes was born in Houston but moved around a lot as a child, from Texas to London, and spent his teen years teaching himself to play guitar and playing bass in "bad hardcore-punk bands".

Not that you'd guess it from the Americana indie that laces his new band's debut album.

It's an LP chock-full with autobiographical numbers, from last summer's infectious single Galaxy Of The Lost to the ten-minute-long epic that is Midnight Surprise, a track that sees its author alluding to sexual frustration, the popular video game The Legend Of Zelda and his own eponymous stage name.

Everyone I Know Is Listenening To Crunk is perhaps the most personal of the lot – "an unabashed love song updated for our trend-saturated times," as he puts it.

Its title also happens to be a name-check for a certain US teenage drama.

"I'm obesessed with The OC," laughs Hynes. "I love it, and I'm never going to watch the final episode because I don't ever want it to end. I actually wrote the song about an hour before I broke up with my girlfriend. We're still great friends now. And I tried to make the lyrics funny, so there are some really ridiculous lines in that song – like the one about The OC."

Although most people who know Hynes through Test Icicles have been surprised by Lightspeed Champion, he says that he has recieved nothing but encouragement so far.

"The feedback I've had from our old fans on MySpace has been positive," he says. "I always joke that I want to win a Grammy, but it's not completely a joke. I want people to like it."

&#149 Lightspeed Champion, Fopp, Rose Street, today, 5pm, free, 0131-220 0310

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SO, Dr Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University, has calculated that the most depressing day this year – Blue Monday – will be January 21.

In reaching his conclusion, he weighed up such things as the weather, rising debts and whether we had already failed to keep our new year resolutions.

What he failed to factor in is that Isa & The Filthy Tongues – the best rock band in the Capital by a country mile – have plans of their own to lift the projected doom and gloom.

Indeed, on Monday the four-piece release a free MP3 version of the Velvet Undeground's I Can't Stand It – which was the opener on the New Yorkers' so-called "lost" album, VU.

To download, log on to www.filthytongues.com – you won't regret it.

Elsewhere on the local circuit, things are starting to gather pace for The Dials, a well turned out three-piece who already have the backing of Fall Out Boy, whose lead singer Pete Wentz described them as "my favourite band in Scotland".

The lads, who have supported The Fratellis and The Subways, have just announced they have a new EP coming out next month. Recorded with producer Marcus Mackay (Snow Patrol, The Cinematics), they believe this is their strongest stuff to date and are confident this new material will stand them in good stead when they tour again with The Subways later in the year.

On the live front this week, check Cancel The Astronauts at Cabaret Voltaire on Thursday.

"We got songs about stalking and inappropriate lusting and sexing and stuff," say the band, "and other songs with guitars and beats you can dance to, and another song in which we threaten you with driving lessons."

If that sounds like your bag, you can download their eight-track demo CD in advance of the gig at www.cancelthe astronauts.co.uk. Oh, and it's entirely free.

Cancel The Astronauts, Cabaret Voltaire, Blair Street, Thursday, 7pm, 4, 0131-220 6176 The latest signings to Alex Tronic Records, local outfit Roy's Iron DNA featured as Radio One's Scottish album of the month for November, which resulted in a fair amount of airplay for the Capital five-piece.

We'll be keeping a close eye on them this year, and you can check them out tomorrow night at Cab Vol when they share the bill with Kubichek! and Cry Over Billionaires. Entry is free, so no excuses.

Roy's Iron DNA, Cabaret Voltaire, Blair Street, tomorrow, 7pm, free, 0131-220 6176 On a different note, Capital act The Offenders are hosting live electric blues jam nights in The Jazz Bar, Chambers Street, and are looking for musicians to get involved.

Whether you are a singer, guitarist, drummer, pianist, brass player, rapper, DJ, whatever, get in touch and get up for a jam.

The Smokin' Boots sessions are held every second Tuesday (the next is January 22) from 9pm until midnight, and entry is just 2 on the door.

Just bring your instrument and your finest licks, and the band will do the rest. A full back line, including the Jazz Bar's spanking new grand piano, is provided.

For more information, check www.theoffenders.co.uk. Elsewhere, Whistlebinkies have an open invitation to take part in their Band Showcase at South Bridge on Tuesday night. It's free, starts at 9pm, and to score a slot call the venue in advance on 0131-557 5114.