Comet Gain - Realistes

  by Chris Jones

published: 25 / 3 / 2003

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Many of my favourite albums from 2002 didn't find their way into my stereo until 2003 and the latest Comet Gain album is one of them.  I think I didn't buy this album earlier because the post band breakup album, 1999's 'Tigertown Pictures', leaned too much toward the punk revival side of the Comet Gain spectrum for my tastes - I've always preferred the mellower and mod-rockish Comet Gain songs over their punk outbursts. This time around, however, sole remaining original member David Feck called on some of his fellow indie-pop friends and put together a great album loaded with lo-fi, mod-rocking, soulful pop songs a la the Jam, the Television Personalities, and Biff Bang Pow! The latter of these bands seems to be getting covered a lot recently, including here with a really good version of 'She Never Understood' that should make Alan McGee proud. The opening track , 'The Kids at the Club' is one of those songs that gets scenes from 'Quadrophenia' scooting through my head and makes me feel like drinking a pint and dancing all night long. I'm sure the kids at Popscene in San Francisco must be digging this one.  The boy / girl vocals, Hammond organ, guitar, and tambourine are better than amphetamines and you'll feel better in the morning too. "Carry on Living' is the album's first slowish number.  Nice female vocals are backed by an almost droney keyboard, strummed guitar, and some buried in the mix guitar feedback.  This is one of those sombre songs that manages to be uplifting when all is said and done.  Things get slower still on 'Moments in the Snow', a mostly spoken affair that could have easily seemed pretentious yet doesn't.  And then comes the only song on the album that I don't like, the Kathleen Hannah punk-powered "Ripped-up Suit!.  We won't talk about that though, since it's followed by the afore mentioned, well done cover of Biff Bang Pow's 'She Never Understood'.  The female vocals are a very nice addition to this song which is otherwise fairly true to the original. "Don't Fall in Love if You Want to Die in Peace' is the tear jerker of the album, on par with "Steps to the Sea' from the second Comet Gain album.  The picked acoustic guitar and keyboards carry along the sadness of the vocals and a simple line like "my heart is not made for breaking" somehow seems to be much deeper. The title track closes the album out and this one is a hand-clappin', rockin' affair.  While a fair number of the songs on this album are rev'ed up and rockin' they rock in a 60's way and not in a punk way and I think that makes the album work very well as a whole.  Whereas the punky songs like 'Language of the Spies' on 'Sneaky' seemed to clash with the rest of the album, the upbeat songs on 'Realistes' stay within the mod-rock, indie-pop vibe.  David Feck and friends did a great job on this album and my faith in Comet Gain has been restored!  Hopefully he can get them all back together again for the next Comet Gain album.  Ok, he can forget to call one of his friends....

Track Listing:-

1 The Kids At The Club
2 Why I Try To Look So Bad
3 I Close My Eyes To Think Of God
4 My Defiance
5 Carry On Living
6 Moments In The Snow
7 Ripped Up Suit
8 She Never Understood
9 Movies
10 Labour
11 Don't Fall In Love If You Want To Die In Peace
12 Realistes

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/cometgain

Have a Listen:-

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