| Falling off the Lavender Bridge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 January 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Studio | ARC Studios, Omaha, Nebraska | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, folk | |||
| Length | 43:00 | |||
| Label | Domino | |||
| Producer | Mike Mogis | |||
| Lightspeed Champion chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Falling off the Lavender Bridge | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Drowned in Sound | 6/10[3] |
| NME | 9/10[4] |
| Pitchfork | 6.3/10[5] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[6] |
Falling off the Lavender Bridge is the debut album by British artist Lightspeed Champion, which was released on 21 January 2008.[7] The album features the singles "Galaxy of the Lost", "Midnight Surprise" and "Tell Me What It's Worth".[8]
Devonté Hynes, the main musician in Lightspeed Champion, flew to Omaha, Nebraska in early 2007 to flesh out the songs that he'd written with Mike Mogis, resident producer for Saddle Creek records and a member of Bright Eyes. He stayed there for several months in a guest house decorated by Mogis and Conor Oberst. An assortment of musicians came around to hang out and ended up playing on the record including Mogis himself, trumpet player and pianist Nate Walcott, The Faint's drummer Clark Baechle and guest vocalist Emmy the Great—along with moonlighting members of Cursive and Tilly and the Wall.[9]
According to Hynes, the album is in two-halves; a mixture of his dreams and life experiences. The lavender in the album title refers to a toy frog (made from lavender) Hynes' mother gave to him as a child to help him sleep.[10]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Number One" | 0:25 |
| 2. | "Galaxy of the Lost" | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Tell Me What It's Worth" | 2:41 |
| 4. | "All to Shit" | 1:12 |
| 5. | "Midnight Surprise" | 9:56 |
| 6. | "Devil Tricks for a Bitch" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "I Could Have Done This Myself" | 3:26 |
| 8. | "Salty Water" | 2:26 |
| 9. | "Dry Lips" | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk" | 3:03 |
| 11. | "Let the Bitches Die" | 2:38 |
| 12. | "No Surprise (for Wendela)/Midnight Surprise" | 5:06 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Meant to Hurt You" (Good Shoes cover) | 3:29 |
| 2. | "Souvenirs" (Patrick Wolf cover) | 3:08 |
| 3. | "Flesh Failures" (from the musical Hair) | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Xanadu" (Olivia Newton-John cover) | 3:46 |
Hynes claims "I Could Have Done This Myself" is "about losing [his] virginity" going on to state, "which is why it's called I Could Have Done This Myself. 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."
"Dry Lips" describes the last time Hynes - who has to lead a relatively sober life because of stomach ulcers - had a hangover.
The 'Wendela' mentioned in the name of the final track ("No Surprise (For Wendela)") is a reference to Hynes' mother. [9]
| Charts (2008)[11] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 45 |
| French Albums Chart | 105 |
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