Lightspeed Champion – Bye Bye EP

Was it the collaboration with Van Dyke Parks that made Lightspeed Champion (aka Devonté Hynes) churn out something so unreasonably overblown? Sure, a bit of pretension is expected of anyone voted onto NME's 'cool' list, but when There's Nothing Underwater’s Hawaiian chic is unjustly mangled by a bad orchestra to become Underwater There is Nothing, we close our eyes and wish for the silly days of Hynes singing to pink puppets in Galaxy of the Lost. While Beach Boys cover Til I Die could be worse, Bye Bye Icarus (which sounds like it just sauntered out of a French restaurant) should come with a disclaimer to reassure that no accordions were harmed in the making of this EP. [Ali Ryland]