Comet Gain - The Misfit Jukebox

  by Tommy Gunnarsson

published: 3 / 7 / 2023

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Before I began listening to this album for the first time, I was playing my Billy Bragg playlist (compiled in anticipation of finally seeing him perform live here in Stockholm this September), and I couldn’t help but think about how similar and different Comer Gain and Bragg are to each other. What they have in common are their faith in socialism and their politically-themed lyrics, but also their ability to mix political songs with rather straightforward love songs. But that’s probably where the similarities end. Where Bragg made himself a name by competently chugging away on his electric guitar on his own and being blessed with a strong voice, Comet Gain’s records have always been ramshackle affairs, with singer/band leader David Christian often half singing/half speaking the lyrics. So, maybe I should rewind a bit here before I go on with this review. Back in the early 00s, I loved Comet Gain. Their 1997 single ‘Strength’ is a classic for me, and their 2001 non-album single ‘You Can Hide Your Love Forever’ was one of my favourite songs of that year. The album ‘Réalistes’ which came out the year after was equally brilliant. I also remember attending one of their explosive and packed gigs in Camden, London in 2001. But then things went quiet, and I more or less forgot about them. When they finally returned in 2005, I had moved on, and I never really cared about the forthcoming releases. So, that’s where we’re at right now. And I probably wouldn’t have bothered with this compilation either, if it wasn’t for its subtitle – “Unreleased, Rare, Odds + Sods 1993-2019”. Maybe this could be a chance to revisit those glorious early years? Well, first of all – there is often a reason why songs remain in the closet and keeps being unreleased, and this compilation does little to change my mind there. But there are luckily a few rays of sunshine here, among them the songs recorded with Alasdair McLean (of the Clientele and Amor de Dias) and Lupe Nunez (of Pipas and Amor de Dias), ‘When?!’ and ‘Your Just Lonely’ (yes, it’s spelled ‘your’ here). The St Etienne-esque ‘Only Happy When I’m Sad’ shows a poppier side to the band, and according to David’s track notes, it was recorded for the band’s second, abandoned album back in 1997. Too bad they never got a chance to release it (the band split up after the recording sessions). This is definitely a compilation for the already converted Comet Gain fans, and the songs on this compilation were apparently released every Friday during the Covid pandemic on the band’s Bandcamp site, so if you enjoyed these archival diggings, this is a release for you!

Track Listing:-

1 The Weekend Dreams (Doble Vida Version)
2 Pinstriped Rebel
3 Never Die
4 When?!
5 My Time Tunnel
6 Herbert Huncke Part 3
7 Only Happy When I'm Sad
8 Even This Could Be Beautiful
9 This Line Has Been Drawn
10 Like A Sparrow
11 Your Just Lonely
12 Post USA
13 Goodbye Part One
14 The Fists In the Pocket (Demo)
15 No Spotlite On Sometimes
16 Skinny Wolves (Demo)
17 Letting Go

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/cometgain

Label Links:-

http://www.tapeterecords.de/
https://www.facebook.com/tapeterecords
https://twitter.com/tapete
https://www.youtube.com/user/tapeterecords/videos

Play in YouTube:-

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