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. ...

Le Loup will just have to quell the audience’s hunger for Friday night indie pop with their ever-expanding experimentalism, as Saddle Creek’s Georgie James have canceled due to illness. But, any void caused by a lack of shimmering girl/guy harmonies at Mohawk will be quickly filled with handfuls of banjo, keyboards, toy instrument sounds and digital assistance. Echoey and breathy vocals entwine as hand claps overlap and the computer age openly embraces the simple, earthly......

Before “Don’t tase me, bro!” entered our national parlance, Saddle Creek signees Two Gallants had their own run-in with an overzealous, taser-happy police officer and his lack of discretion. It took place in Houston, no less, yet another reason for bands to avoid any part of Texas east of Austin - not that they really needed one. After the dust settled, Two Gallants continue to tour un-tasered, and will be spending the one year......

The Good Life Help Wanted Nights (Saddle Creek) The Good Life’s Tim Kasher, also of Cursive, is one of the most prolific and consistent romantic anti-heroes of modern indie rock. He’s released many albums under both titles as well as contributing to his peers’ projects like Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes (the singer of which got his start playing with Kasher in Commander Venus), and while much of his music is built on heart aching......

Maria Taylor is one half of Azure Ray, has supported acts like the Faint and Connor Oberst, and has made her home on Saddle Creek records since 2005. Her latest release, Lynn Teeter Flower, offers more of her beautiful music, featuring softly layered vocals, warming electronics and her multi-instrumentation via piano, keys, guitar and more. To support the album, Taylor is touring with the Watson Twins, who we all know and love thanks to......

Local favorites Okkervil River released their new full-length today. It's called The Stage Names, and we'll be running a feature length review of it on Thursday. Art in Manila Set the Woods on Fire (Saddle Creek) Orenda Fink, ne half of the now-defunct Azure Ray, has been writing and recording solo work for a while now, but her most recent project is a collaboration between Fink and a group of folks that used to......

Shearwater Palo Santo Remastered, Expanded (Matador) The release of Palo Santo in 2006 marked Jonathan Meiburg's emergence from the shadow of the 'O' into full light. The songs are dense, revealing themselves slowly and carefully amidst moments of reflective sincerity and emotional cacophony with equal precision. Shearwater's sound is difficult to pin down, but the songs are always centered around Meiburg's unfaltering voice, a dark but lilting instrument that narrows the gap between fragility......

New music by Cursive, Kelis, Amy Millan, and more...