Lightspeed Champion - 'Midnight Surprise'

If the perfect length for a pop single is three minutes, releasing a single that’s almost ten minutes long seems like asking for trouble. But Lightspeed Champion’s ‘Midnight Surprise’ is a rare example of when it goes right. There are plenty of twists, turns and beautiful harmonies to keep it occupied along the way - plus backing vocals from Emmy the Great, Tilly and the Wall and Son, Ambulance. As for B-Sides, covering a song from Hair might not be the quickest way to gain indie credibility but here the track, ‘Flesh Failures’, changes what might be cheesy sentiment in the hands of musical theatre into pretty, gospel tinged joy.

Released 15/10/07 on Domino.