It's often only when someone does something completely out of character that you see them in a new light. Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion's brief career with dance-punk outfit Test Icicles was far from beautiful, but thankfully short enough to prevent any irrevocable damage to his reputation. Now, at still only 21 years old, the Texan-born, London-based Hynes has left behind his noisenik roots and created a solo album that, in contrast to Test Icicles' pointless existence, is quite, quite lovely. Falling Off the Lavender Bridge - so titled because of the sprig of lavender that Hynes held while asleep as a child, to which a variety of extraordinary dreams was attributed - is an album of rich country-pop songs that are as comforting as a fleece blanket on a bitter night. Recorded in Omaha, Nebraska with Saddle Creek producer (and Bright Eyes member) Mike Mogis, Hynes has enlisted members of Cursive, Tilly and the Wall and The Faint, as well as London singer-songwriter Emmy the Great here, and the result is a finely-tuned, warm pop album with a strong Nashville influence, but a contemporary and distinctly British heart. Galaxy of the Lost is atypical of what's on offer: well-crafted, easygoing pop songs with a wry, almost Badly Drawn Boy-style edge. The ten minute Midnight Surprise is a fuzz-coated dream, with lush strings at every intersection; the Bright Eyes-esque I Could Have Done This Myself's gospel loop builds and builds, while Hynes's flair for blithe lyricism is brought to the fore on the brilliant Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk. With a singing voice is similar to both Bloc Party's Kele Okereke and The Dears' Murray Lightburn, but a style that's both unexpected and singular, expect to hear a lot more of Lightspeed Champion in 2008.

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