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More than a whimsical performer, the mastermind behind Lightspeed Champion, 23 year old Devonté Hynes, is an accomplished composer. His work includes songs by The Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx and Solange Knowls. In 2009, Hynes was asked by the British Film Institute to rearrange and perform the full soundtrack of the cult classic Harold and Maude. As Lightspeed Champion, Devonté Hynes released his first full-length Falling off the Lavender Bridge in 2007. With the help of Mike Mogis, Lightspeed Champion fished the Omaha music scene and recruited a number of Saddle Creek Records fixtures for the unique recording. While Falling off the Lavender Bridge was not lauded as the introverted masterpiece it set out to be, Lightspeed Champion sparked a sincere curiosity among its listeners.
For his February 2010 LP release, Hynes relocated to another settlement not short on musicians, Brooklyn. By calling on producer Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarles Barkley, and Gringo Starr), Hynes suggested a newer, more exploratory sound for Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You.
The album’s lead single, "Marlene," presents swooping strings and a crunchy dance rhythm, capped off with a brittle guitar solo that sounds like the amorous calling of a Tyrannosaurs Rex. 
At just 23 years old, Devonté Hynes has recorded an album that is as intimate as it is spacious and harmonious as it is brazen. From a vocal standpoint, Hynes still comes off as plaintive. That said, his ability to be assertive can be found in the adventurous arrangements that reveal his interestingly diverse background.
While Life Is Sweet! Nice to Meet You may not be Devonté Hynes’ opus, it does accurately tap exciting points on the timeline of music, leaving the curious listener to excitedly wonder, what will he do next?

Check out the video for "Marlene" by Lightspeed Champion:

The Heligoats is just something that came together one winter between Chris Otepka and the band Ulysses S. Grant from Chicago. These friends got together and recorded an album, Goodness Gracious, before Otepka was to leave Chicago and go west. Maybe the move was an important anticipation for him, whose lyrics reflect a change for the better. The title track, “Goodness Gracious,” expresses his life changing transformation, with the grateful and inspiring lyrics, “I went from having hope so low, to having a surplus/I went from burning my days by, to burning daylight with a purpose.”  The whole album seems to express this sentiment. The lyrics are the driving force of this music with fun word play, full of water/ocean life metaphors, references to swimming and living life outside, communing with nature. The lyrics have a good mix of humor and hope with some shadows of darkness which is what he overcomes.  The inspirational lyrics are backed by acoustic-driven folk-rock that and can be energetic and upbeat as well as slow and heartfelt.
Goodness Gracious is surprising.The lyrics are fun, inspiring, grateful and gracious and well thought out. It’s nice to hear about changing for the better sometimes. Otepka can finally say “goodnight for real this time.” It'll help you sleep at night knowing he meant it.

Check out "Fish Sticks" from the Heligoats' Daytrotter session: