If you've been having problems with the site since last week (Friday 18 May) please read this. (Hide this message)

Comet Gain - Howl of the Lonely Crowd

Recommended by us on 20th May 2011

Howl of the Lonely Crowd by Comet Gain

5...according to our on Fri 20 May, 2011.

I'm terribly in love with this latest from cult underdog stalwarts Comet Gain. They are truly gifted songwriters you know! They deftly veer between numerous styles without losing the Comet Gain vibe which shines with a knowing shamble and an earthy charm.  I mean the opening song has such an endearing comic title which is reflected in the affability of their loose harmony-drenched arrangements. Rousing country flecked college pop licks my ears and has me thinking of Nikki Sudden & early Pastels - a spirited reedy organ line singing like a shimmering orchestra at the back! When they do stomping indie such as  'The Weekend Dreams' it sounds so alive & rough-edged, heartfelt & lovable you cannot help falling hook line & sinker. So from punchy jangle pop to early Aztec Camera style poetic reflection onto cretinous lo-fi indie-punk & even a thunderous, distorted Fall/Buzzcocks/Siouxsie scree dedicated to The Fall's early keyboard torturer Una Baines! There's a cracking track called 'Herbert Huncle' - hear it sport this fizzing New York motorik cloak that beautifully apes the Velvets and other CBGBs era legends. But they've a very British sensibility all said - the co-singing lass has a really wonky, incredibly sad voice that really stabs your heart a little when she takes the lead spot on 'Ballad of a Frankie Machine'. I'm off to listen to that again right now! I'm chuffed to discover they've a real penchant for writing a brilliant tune for any mood but never being anything less than themselves so....fine time to hoover up some back catalogue on these pups....

Fearlessly passionate and fiercely intelligent, Comet Gain return with their finest album to date. With production by Edwyn Collins and Ryan Jarman of The Cribs. Led by songwriter David Feck, Comet Gain have released a string of critically acclaimed records on Kill Rock Stars, Track & Field and What’s Your Rupture establishing the band as one of the most fearlessly passionate and fiercely intelligent British bands around. The current line up comprises David Charlie Feck (vocals, guitar), ex-Huggy Bear bassist Jon Slade (guitar), Rachel Evans (vocals), Kay Ishikawa (bass), ex-Morrissey/The Meteors drummer Woodie Taylor (percussion), Anne Laure Guillain (keyboards), and Ben Phillipson of The Eighteenth Day Of May (guitar). Unapologetically literate and emotional, Comet Gain seek out inspiration as much in the music of girl-group era pop, heartfelt Americana, British post-punk, and 60s psychedelia, as in the words and images of the beat poets and in the cinema of both the British and French new-wave of the late 50 and early 60s. From Goffin and King, The Modern Lovers, The Seeds, Dylan, The Impressions, Big Star, Julian Cope, and the Flying Nun and Creation labels, to Kerouac, Pynchon, Shelagh Delaney, and Godard. The aesthetic they have made their own has chimed with and galvanized a slew of iconic bands and musicians; from artists like The Make-Up, The Yummy Fur, Jens Lekman, and Herman Dune, to a younger generation of DIY musicians like The Cribs, Let’s Wrestle, Male Bonding, Love Is All, Veronica Falls, and Crystal Stilts, Comet Gain’s influence remains a traceable and tangible thing. Howl of the Lonely Crowd represents the fruition of the affection with which Comet Gain are held: further production work was undertaken by Brian O’Shaughnessy (My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream) and Alasdair Maclean of The Clientele, who also contributed guitar. With added input from Matthew Sawyer (The Ghosts), Helen King (Shrag), and a blast of Terry Edwards’ legendary trumpet on the rousing mod anthem “The Weekend Dreams”.  On this record, with the patronage of their esteemed friends, acolytes and collaborators, we find one of the most treasured and exhilarating British bands around in full realization of their creative capacities.

Tracklisting:

1. Clang Of The Concrete Swans 2. The Weekend Dreams 3. An Arcade From The Warm Rain That Falls 4. She Had Daydreams 5. Yoona Baines 6. Working Circle Explosive! 7. Herbert Huncke prt 2 8. After Midnite, After It's All Gone Wrong 9. A Memorial For Nobody I Know 10. Ballad Of Frankie Machine 11. Some Of Us Don't Want To Be Saved 12. Thee Ecstatic Library 13. In A Lonely Place

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!

You don't have to provide your email address, but without it we can't give you a prize if this is the month's best review!

Keep it civil, please!

Anti-spam question...