Comet Gain - Paperback Ghosts

Comet Gain
Paperback Ghosts
7 July 2014
Fortuna Pop!

4 stars out of 5

 

Twenty-two years and seven albums into their career, London’s Comet Gain have become almost the perfect embodiment of literate British indie pop. As the album’s title would suggest, this is an album comprised of and influenced by stories. There’s even a track early on called “‘Sad Love’ and Other Short Stories” to help you settle into the mood. Eleven-ballads-plus-a-rocker might be a formula of death for your typical arena band, but Comet Gain really don’t give a rat’s ass about all that, and their latest LP, Paperback Ghosts, sees them as uncompromising as ever.

“I’m affected by the corniest scenes of the cheesiest movies,” sings David Bower (or David Feck, if you prefer) on “The Last Love Letter.” Like the balance of the record, it’s an unassuming, delicate folky pop song, somewhere between Belle and Sebastian’s more elaborately-arranged twee pop and The Clientele’s baroque take on psychedelia. (It’s perhaps not a coincidence that the latter’s bassist, James Hornsey, is now also in Comet Gain.) However, Paperback Ghosts lacks any corn or cheese; indeed, this is a very honest-sounding record, as disarming as it is ambitious. It lacks most of the remaining tendencies to rock out that may have been still lingering on their last LP, 2011’s Howl of the Lonely Crowd; these are largely relegated to the album closer, “Confessions of a Daydream,” in which the band rip it up in the manner of their good old garage rock days.

This is perhaps the easiest record to digest for people new to the band, but it’s simultaneously their strongest work. Both newcomers and die hard fans will be happy with Paperback Ghosts. Let’s all take a moment to thank Comet Gain for this album and their existence in general. Thank you, guys.

reviewed by Richard Krueger