Formerly of mercurial, short-lived art-punk outfit Test Icicles, Devonté Hynes has gone on to become a much sought-after songwriter in his own right. However, his most successful endeavour to date came in the guise of Lightspeed Champion, the alter-ego he unveiled in 2008 with the alt-country tinged Falling Off The Lavender Bridge. Well, the Champion is back.
Peachy as his professional life has been, Dev’s been dreadfully maimed by Cupid’s arrows. Actually, it’s invigorating to hear a record that deals with love gone awry without resorting to pat clichés. Hynes doesn’t seek solace in the nobler sentiments. Indeed on slow-build opener ‘Dead Head Blues’ he wallows in bitter disappointment, bleakly confessing “you talk of him and I just die”. Make no mistake, love hurts. Insecurity riddles the Dexys-tinged ‘Faculty Of Fears’ and equally the strings-swaddled pop of ‘I Don’t Want To Wake Up Alone’. In contrast, ‘Sweetheart’ pleads wild-eyed and sincere over twanging guitar and ‘Madame Van Damme’ assumes the perspective of a prostitute and reclines in a dark fantasy of sin, sex and redemption through death.
Overall, the Americana leanings that characterised his Lightspeed Champion debut have been usurped here by a much broader spectrum of sounds. Note the disco-coated funk of ‘Marlene’, the aching guitar finale of ‘Middle Of The Dark’, and the theatrical, piano-led extravagance of ‘The Big Guns Of Highsmith’, a song which captures Hynes emotional modus operandi, in which he “has to be the one who’s always feeling sad.” In short, the ironically titled Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You is a record awash with heartfelt feeling and blessed tunes. You should make its acquaintance.
KEY TRACK: ‘MARLENE’