Blood Orange

When the Test Icicles first emerged on to the scene with their disorganised take on punk, few could have imagined that, in a few short years, the guitar player would be making such dreamy chillwave pop music as what appears on 'Cupid Deluxe'. The second release from Devont' Hines' Blood Orange project, it is his most determined and stimulating yet. All of the brainwaves that have floated around Dev's head since his formative years come to the fore here, displaying his astuteness as a producer, his creativity as a composer and songwriter and the considerable talents he has developed, as well as those of his many collaborators.

While Dev began to make his craft as a songwriter more efficient by trading his folksy Lightspeed Champion persona in for the new wave sensibilities of Blood Orange on 2011's 'Coastal Grooves', flirtations with pop have always existed. It was his work as a producer for Solange Knowles and Sky Ferreira where his morose take on love blossomed into the blood-red rose he now proudly wears on his lapel. Standing by these wonderfully realised sensibilities, on 'Cupid Deluxe' Dev has created a pop album that retains genuine emotion and a subtlety that has eluded a great number of would-be Sade revivalists over the years.

More than just a solo album for Dev to demonstrate his own aptitude, 'Cupid Deluxe' is by Blood Orange and friends. With friends like these the album needed to miss the mark dramatically, but thankfully it did not. It is as though Dev is the sergeant general commanding his troops who dedicatedly follow his orders to dexterously create starry-eyed new wave pop created in idolisation of New York City. There are nods to his previous records, all of which work really well on the album. 'Time Will Tell' is the most familiar to 'Coastal Grooves', and is one of the many songs where Friends' front-woman and Dev's current girlfriend Samantha Urbani appears. She acts as though she is the album's unofficial Solange, her soulful vocals itinerating with Dev's groundwork to give the album its soulful edge. In particular, 'On The Line' muses over parts of 'Some Things Seem To Never F***ing Work', and 'Uncle ACE' carries hints of Solange to it as well. The seaming guitars in the mid-section are much more reminiscent of The Talking Heads' 'I Zimbra' than anything Dev has attempted before but, as reminiscent as parts of the album are, it remains a statement of intent throughout.

Continue reading: Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe Album Review

From Test Icicles to Lightspeed Champion, there's no denying Devont' Hynes' talent when it comes to making music. He could shred with Test Icicles and he could melt hearts under his Lightspeed Champion moniker, and with the noise he makes under Blood Orange, he somehow manages to mix the two together to make something very interesting indeed.

Continue reading: Blood Orange, Forget It Single Review

Dev Hynes is what music critics used to describe as prolific. Not content to rest on his laurels after last years triumphant Lightspeed Champion album (Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You), he returns in August with a new moniker and a new sound. The former Test Icicles man's also reinvented himself yet again, as the Blood Orange material seems to be partially informed by his recent behind the scenes work with artists like Florence Welch and Diana Vickers. The folk influenced guitars of Lightspeed Champion are replaced here with pop inspired grooves and a liberal smattering of 80's nostalgia thrown in for good measure.

Continue reading: Blood Orange, Coastal Grooves Album Review