Sometimes a catchy pop song is just a catchy pop song, and nothing more. It’s not going to change the world, but you’re going to enjoy listening to it a couple of times before it gets set aside to be obscured by better albums with a longer shelf-life.
Enter Lightspeed Champion, the king of said catchy pop songs. Devonté Hynes’ second solo album since leaving his former band the Test Icicles is a varied smorgasbord of ear candy centred around his theatrical melodies and exuberant, boyish voice.
Appropriately titled Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, the album begins on maybe the darkest note Hynes is capable of. Shimmering synths and mid-tempo bass plucks take the listener to the two minute mark of opener “Dead Head Blues,” whereat the listener begins a dramatic and bouncy journey through the pop soundscape of the 2000s: first single “Marlene” has the faint disco tinge and aching strings that mark the work of Montreal’s Islands; “Faculty of Fears” features dainty string plucks reminiscent of Andrew Bird; “Madame Van Damme” is punctuated by a hollered chorus straight out of the repertoire of 00s British groups like the Cribs or the Libertines; even the reverb-y strum of “Sweetheart” bears momentary resemblance to the shaky charm of Lifted-era Bright Eyes.
This shouldn’t suggest that Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You is plagiarized; these are compliments. Devonté Hynes employs classic pop moves that have been proven effective by the multifaceted pop of the new millennium, and uses them well.
Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch of the mind, but it’s a tasty, varied mix of “snack” songs for the peckish listener. If you’re hungry for something more lastingly satisfying, you’d do better to look elsewhere.
