Salamanders Chased for Wanton Album Artwork,

If reviews could be conducted on the basis of album covers, it might be safe to start with Falling Off the Lavender Bridge by Lightspeed Champion. The offending cover features the man himself, Dev Hynes, clutching what appears to be a rabbit. Backtrack just over a year and Jeremy Warmsley could be seen on promo posters and album covers posing with a canary. Skip to 2009, will Jay Jay Pistolet or the like be seen cradling a piglet? They’re all from that London-type mob that sound all very delicate and seem cool because they can wear horizontally-striped t-shirts and those cardigans. One of their redeeming qualities is their appreciation of Semifinalists.

I was inspired to buy this album by the song, Galaxy of the Lost, it has a McFly quality. That’s not a bad thing and I don’t own any McFly records, but I respect them a little more than many because they seem to play their own instruments. They cater for a market and tailor their lyrics for their fans. If McFly were to aim at a slightly older audience, those who can begin to appreciate language and musicianship, they could have knocked out Galaxy of the Lost. There are some lovely strings and keys, and nice changes of tempo on this track.

Other than that, which was effectively the first song, the only other songs worth listening to are Tell Me What It’s Worth and Midnight Surprise; the two other single releases. Congratulations must be offered for the marketing strategy but unfortunately, the rest of the album sounds rather unfinished and one-paced. The recording quality is debatable. I even began to lose interest during Midnight Surprise, this song was edited from its 10 minute album track length for single release.

The rabbit on the cover is quite unclear; I had to take a decision on whether it was a rabbit or a black jacket; usually rabbit identification decisions involve hares or at the worst, guinea pigs. At least, Jeremy Warmsley held what was quite clearly a canary, not a budgerigar and not a woodpigeon. Jeremy’s product was much better, he had the same range of instruments and similar spectacles so if I was to recommend making one man a little richer, it’d be him. Dev Hynes could polish up this recording; I guess he sounds quite good live; or he could go back to being one of those ‘twits with guitars’ who make abrasive rackets like he did with those Test Icicles.