‘Marlene’ is a brilliant fresh sound from the amazing Lightspeed Champion. A bit different from the folk based songs of his last album, this song relies more on electric guitar, starting with a funky guitar rhythm, which then continues as Dev Hynes sing’s his excellently written lyrics. Further in the song it changes giving us a violin part to the song as the rhythm changes, before going back to the original rhythm for another verse, but this time with a violin part included. The song is perfectly sung by Hynes, what is quite often missed in Lightspeed Champion songs is just how good a singer Dev Hynes is; his vocals are spot on in this song. The middle 8 is a highlight of the song, based mainly on vocals and a slow synth background, with a small bit of added guitar, before the solo kicks in, sounding very influenced by 70’s style guitar solos, something Lightspeed Champion has not ventured into his songs before, giving a fresher unique sound to this new material.

In conclusion this is a very strong return for Lightspeed Champion showing that Dev Hynes can expand his musical abilities even further than he already does, and that his debut Lightspeed Champion album wasn’t just a one off brilliance, he still has excellent material up his sleeve, and this track gives large hope for the rest of the forthcoming album. One of the most unique and talented musicians we have releasing music at the moment.

7.8/10