What’s the Deal: The speed of light is just under 300,000 km/s. It takes about 8 seconds for the sun’s light to reach us on Earth, and that’s about how long it should take you to find Lightspeed Champion (aka Dev Hynes) completely charming. After his days in the short-lived dance-core group Test Icicles, Hynes began this folked-out, playful, indie pop project. His debut full length, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, comes out February 5th, and it’s full of players that provide the perfect accent to his earnest twang and sweetly sung melodies. For the album, the American born, U.K. raised Hynes struck out for Omaha and decided to enlist Mike Mogis as producer to add that Saddle Creek sound. It was here that he found his additional players for the record in Mogis, Nate Walcott, Clark Baechle from the Faint, as well as members of Cursive and Tilly And The Wall. He keeps good company, even on tour. He’s been out with Bright Eyes, Final Fantasy and Patrick Wolf. While touring, Hynes enlists a rotating cast of accompanying musicians pulled from a list of his musician friends.

The music of Lightspeed Champion is much more self-aware and deliberate than his work in Test Icicles, which always seemed more spontaneous. “Galaxy of the Lost,” from the upcoming release, is full of some fancy finger work by Hynes on the acoustic guitar and his ethereal, honey-lined vocals. The track is made thick with the addition of pedal steel, violin and organ. An already sweet chorus made sweeter with the introduction of a welcomed female backup vocal on “Tell Me What It’s Worth” shows he’s quite capable of blending silliness with eccentricity and infectiousness. He hops right to it with the first line being, “Crack open the good times on a street corner bustin’ rhymes.” He’s sure to win over Conor Oberst fans the world over.

Something Interesting: The name Lightspeed Champion came from comic strips that he created as a teenager in his math books. According to his MySpace, Hynes is playing SXSW at Antone's on March 12th.

Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk” and “Midnight Surprise”

Lightspeed Champion Official
Lightspeed Champion MySpace

Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff courtesy of MySpace

What’s the Deal: Ahh, Austin. How you do love your band name puns. However, this one comes equipped with a whole treasure trove of creepy artwork designs that go right along with the handle. Wrapped tightly in images of beak-nosed, wild-eyed witches and a beast of a baby with eight slimy tentacles, the Hexes – Alex Cuervo, Tom Kodiak, Alyse Mervosh and Dave Bessenhoffer – dispense their spectral brew of dark-wave garage rock. Their self-titled album released last year is full of distorted grittiness and undeniable pop choruses that bear the stamp of Jay Reatard, who mastered the record.

What can you say about songs like “Are You an Assassin?” It’s one of those tracks that make you go, “Man, they really nailed it on that one. That song is just about perfect.” It’s both tough and catchy, which is usually an impenetrable combo. It’s short and most of the lyrics are “Tell me, tell me, baby are you an assassin?” Colliding drum beats and fuzzy guitars meet and swirl around that chorus you can’t help but yell out your window on the highway.

Something Interesting: All throughout the month of May the Hex Dispensers will be playing in some European towns most of us have never even heard of like Kortrijk and Helsing r, and even the more fitting M nster.

Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Evil Eye” and “Tentacles!”

the Hex Dispensers MySpace