Lightspeed Champion second album news.

New-rave-godfather-turned-alt.-folkster Dev Hynes, better known as Lightspeed Champion, has announced the details of his sophomore album, along with a sneak preview of lead single "Marlene". Titled, rather amazingly, "Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You", it's due to be released on the 1st February 2010.

Tracklisting

1. "Dead Head Blues"
2. "Marlene"
3. "There’s Nothing Underwater"
4. "Intermission"
5. "Faculty Of Fears"
6. "The Big Guns Of Highsmith"
7. "Romart"
8. "I Don’t Want To Wake Up Alone"
9. "Madame Van Damme"
10. "Smooth Day (At The Library)"
11. "Intermission 2"
12. "Sweetheart"
13. "Etude Op.3 ‘Goodnight Michalek’"
14. "Middle Of The Dark"
15. "Bridge And A Goodbye"

Very interesting. At first I thought this would turn out to be this year's "The First Days Of Spring", going off the plaintitive guitar strums, reverb and organ in the background, but the QOTSA-style rock out means this is going to be very, very different

LOVING ITManic Street Preachers - Journal For Plague Lovers
Released 18th May.
The best news of the week/month/virtually the entire year.
Tracklisting:

1. Peeled Apples
2. Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
3. Me and Stephen Hawking
4. This Joke Sport Severed
5. Journal For Plague Lovers
6. She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach
7. Facing Page: Top Left
8. Marlon J.D.
9. Doors Closing Slowly
10. All Is Vanity
11. Pretension/Repulsion
12. Virginia State Epileptic Colony
13. William’s Last Words

Okay so the song titles are mostly awful, but most early signs (or tweets and blogs from people who have heard it) point towards an amazing piece work. If only they'd have had a tour date up here.

Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

Mozza. The Mozfather. The Pope of Mope. Il Mozalini. Steven Patrick. He goes by many names, but you'll always know it's him by the music. Ninth album "Years Of Refusal" is out next year on the 23rd of Feb (a nice birthday present for moi *hint*) and has a slightly odd cover. Make of that what you will. Anyway, back to the music. Lead single "....Paris" is a return to the "You Are The Quarry" territory instead of the calmer, loved up material of "Ringleader". It's typical Moz fare really; a hint of whimsy, good old glam rock guitar, a naggingly familiar melody and the usual feelings of longing, as exemplified in the chours "I'm throwing my arms around all of Paris/Because only steel and stone accept my love". It's slightly obvious that Mozza might have gone through a bit of relationship trouble over the last few years. Long may it continue if this prime piece of rock is the result. A case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

8/10