Falling off the Lavender Bridge is the debut album by British artist Lightspeed Champion, which was released on 21 January 2008.[7] The album features the singles "Galaxy of the Lost", "Midnight Surprise" and "Tell Me What It's Worth".[8]
| Falling off the Lavender Bridge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 January 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Studio | ARC Studios, Omaha, Nebraska | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, folk | |||
| Length | 43:00 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Producer | Mike Mogis | |||
| Lightspeed Champion chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Falling off the Lavender Bridge | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Drowned in Sound | 6/10[3] |
| NME | 9/10[4] |
| Pitchfork | 6.3/10[5] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[6] |
Recording edit
Devonté Hynes, the main musician in Lightspeed Champion, flew to Omaha, Nebraska in early 2007 to flesh out the songs that he'd written with Mike Mogis, resident producer for Saddle Creek records and a member of Bright Eyes. He stayed there for several months in a guest house decorated by Mogis and Conor Oberst. An assortment of musicians came around to hang out and ended up playing on the record including Mogis himself, trumpet player and pianist Nate Walcott, The Faint's drummer Clark Baechle and guest vocalist Emmy the Great—along with moonlighting members of Cursive and Tilly and the Wall.[9]
According to Hynes, the album is in two-halves; a mixture of his dreams and life experiences. The lavender in the album title refers to a toy frog (made from lavender) Hynes' mother gave to him as a child to help him sleep.[10]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Number One" | 0:25 |
| 2. | "Galaxy of the Lost" | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Tell Me What It's Worth" | 2:41 |
| 4. | "All to Shit" | 1:12 |
| 5. | "Midnight Surprise" | 9:56 |
| 6. | "Devil Tricks for a Bitch" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "I Could Have Done This Myself" | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Salty Water" | 2:26 |
| 9. | "Dry Lips" | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk" | 3:03 |
| 11. | "Let the Bitches Die" | 2:38 |
| 12. | "No Surprise (for Wendela)/Midnight Surprise" | 5:06 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Meant to Hurt You" (Good Shoes cover) | 3:29 |
| 2. | "Souvenirs" (Patrick Wolf cover) | 3:08 |
| 3. | "Flesh Failures" (from the musical Hair) | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Xanadu" (Olivia Newton-John cover) | 3:46 |
Notes edit
Hynes claims "I Could Have Done This Myself" is "about losing [his] virginity" going on to state, "which is why it's called I Could Have Done This Myself. I later realised that it was actually referring to the second time I had sex; the first time was so traumatic I'd just blanked it out of my memory."
"Dry Lips" describes the last time Hynes - who has to lead a relatively sober life because of stomach ulcers - had a hangover.
The 'Wendela' mentioned in the name of the final track ("No Surprise (For Wendela)") is a reference to Hynes' mother. [9]
Personnel edit
- Devonté Hynes - vocals, guitar
- Emmy the Great - additional vocals (tracks 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- Tim Kasher - additional vocals (track 3)
- Derek Pressnall, Kianna Alarid, Susan Sanchez, David Coyote Bones, Nik Fackler, Joe Knapp - group vocals (tracks 7, 12)
- Clark Baechle - drums
- Kimberley Salistean, Cynthia Ricker, Donna Carnes and Tracy Sands - strings
- Nate Walcott - strings arrangement
- Tom Clarke - cello
- Miguel Picanco - oboe
- Mark Benson - clarinet
- Karen Murphy - flute
- Mike Mogis - producer, mixer, engineer
Charts edit
| Charts (2008)[11] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 45 |
| French Albums Chart | 105 |
References edit
- ^ "Falling Off The Lavender Bridge by Lightspeed Champion". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "Drowned in Sound review". Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
- ^ NME.COM (28 January 2008). "Lightspeed Champion: Falling Off The Lavender bridge". NME. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ "Pitchfork Media review". Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
- ^ "Music Reviews, Features, Essays, News, Columns, Blogs, MP3s and Videos - PopMatters". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Play.com listing". Play.com. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
- ^ "Amazon.co.uk listing". Amazon UK. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ a b "Domino Records page". Domino Records. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ "An Introduction To Lightspeed Champion (video)". Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2008 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
External links edit
- Dev Hynes talking in extensive detail about the album
- Lightspeed Champion official website Archived 18 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Lightspeed Champion Domino Records artists page
- Lightspeed Champion Album Review on Audiojunkies
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