Considering the abrasive, confrontational noise Test Icicles produced on their only album, For Screening Purposes Only, it’s startling to hear how laid-back and melodic Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, the debut full-length from Lightspeed Champion (a.k.a. former Icicle Devonte Hynes), is. Apparently, all that time pushing the envelope with his notoriously chaotic old band got to Hynes, as the mellow folk on Lavendar Bridge is about as far removed from Test Icicles’ raging sound as it’s possible to get.

Initial shock aside, Lightspeed Champion is disappointing. Say what you want about the quality of his old band’s recorded work, at least Test Icicles stood out. Hynes all too easily fits into the exponentially growing crowd of introspective singer-songwriters with acoustic guitars. In fairness, he does demonstrate a skill for arrangement throughout Lavender Bridge, adding ornate string accompaniments to his simple, acoustic songs. His Murray-Lightburn-meets-Jarvis-Cocker croon aptly carries a melody, too, but neither are enough to lessen the blandness of the proceedings.

It’s only when Hynes demonstrates some of the deconstructionist tendencies of his previous work, such as the restless, movement-hopping chamber-pop of “Galaxy of the Lost,” or lets his wry sense of humour run rampant, as he does on the cheeky “Everyone I know is Listening to Crunk,” that Lavendar Bridge succeeds. Unfortunately, there are too few of these moments, leaving Lightspeed Champion as something Test Icicles — for all their pros and cons — could never have been called: dull.