Lightspeed Champion
The Barfly, Cardiff
7th February, 2008

View: mid-crowd, submerged!

Lightspeed’s Barfly gig was a reminder that traditional media hasn’t quite had its day – following earlier reports of badly attended performances, an NME cover later and this venue was quickly sold out. However, while the isolation of your own home favours Dev Hynes’ humorously and explicitly expressed neuroses, in a tightly packed venue, the lightweight if pleasant folk/country jangling was unable to grab the attention. The 10-minute opus Midnight Surprise became nothing more than faint background music for yo-yoing bar-goers – not helped by a jostling crowd that made only Dev Hynes’ furry hat clearly visible. A faithful rendition of Tell Me What It’s Worth earned a singalong, while Dry Lips built to a cheerful chorus of “tell her… I give up/ He’s won… I have lost/All my humaniteeeee”. Hynes’ recent high profile has made the intimate setting this music requires impossible. With bigger venues on the horizon, Lightspeed Champion will need to be less reliant on lyrical wit and an engaging, if timorous vocal, and beef up their sound at the risk of losing the characteristics that are quickly endearing him to so many.

Reviewed by Darren Howells
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