For Dev Hynes the cessation of his previous outfit, Test Icicles, shocked plenty who saw the maverick trio evolving into something big, if unpredictable.

"Test Icicles was one of many projects the three of us did," explains the man currently plying his trade rather well as Lightspeed Champion, pictured above.

"We weren't doing it for money or to be famous, so when the music stopped being fun we moved on. We didn't want to cheat people, especially because it was mainly kids who were into Test Icicles. But none of the success was lost on me."

In a business where dignity and honesty are often hard to come by it's maybe no great surprise that the band's guitarist has been rapidly acquiring new fans.

Where TI were a pick 'n' mix underground force of garish riffs and agitated rhythms, the US-born, Essex-raised 21-year-old is ploughing a much sweeter, more melodic furrow, although he still exhibits restlessness and a sense of risk.

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"I obsess over songwriting," he says. "The first music I was into was musicals, stuff like Hair and Rocky Horror. Those songs had a big effect on me. And I'm a huge country fan. My aunt in Houston always played the country stations. I'm pretty out of date with the new indie bands, although I still listen to a lot of hip hop."

His own sound was also shaped 'over the Pond', in Omaha, Nebraska, by studio hand Mike Mogis and an informal band that included The Faint's drummer Clark Baechle and guest vocalist Emmy The Great, as well as members of Cursive and Tilly And The Wall.

The result was Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, an album that touches many bases and has more than its fair share of tough song titles even if the music is gentle and grown up.

It takes in the self-loathing of Devil Tricks For A Bitch, the short and bitter All To S***, which essays the disintegration of a relationship in just 67 seconds, and Let The Bitches Die.

Then there's personal favourite I Could Have Done This Myself.

"It's about losing my virginity," says The OC-obsessed performer, who returns to Sheffield via The Leadmill on Saturday. "I later realised that it was actually referring to the second time I had sex; the first time was so traumatic I'd just blanked it out of my memory.

"There are some seriously harsh titles all the way through the album – I actually toned some of them down.

"I realised the string section were middle-aged women and might be offended, so I changed the titles on their scores to something less offensive."

Overall Lavender Bridge is a bold and mostly triumphant offering from one of the more intriguing personalities frequenting the 'underground' scene.

"People who just know me for Test Icicles might be surprised by Lightspeed Champion, but I'm really proud of this record," he adds.

"The feedback I've had from our old fans on MySpace has been positive.

"I always joke that I want to win a Grammy, but it's not completely a joke. I want people to like it. We'll see what happens."


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