Little Comets

Little Comets are set to release their highly anticipated album 'Hope Is Just a State of Mind' on February 16th 2015. After their successful 2014 tour accompanied by Catfish and The Bottlemen, the band have become vastly more popular, offering a distinctive and stimulating style of composition.  

The group have successfully kept their unique 'kitchen sink' indie style, with 'Hope Is Just a State of Mind' perfectly capturing the band's clear intention to express their talent the way they want it to be shown, rather than reinventing themselves in order to fit with whatever brand of indie pop that's currently popular. Their music reflects personal and political thoughts, but doesn't always manage to connect with the listener; indeed, sometimes they're in danger of alienating percentages of their demographic.

The first track, 'My Boy William', is very delicate, opening with everyday sound effects used to great impact and frontman Robert Coles' acoustic solo performance. The band eke in as it develops into a fantastic opener with lyrics such as, "I cut all the pages from a magazine, so my boy stays true enough to dream." It is clearly a very personal track, and the gentle acoustic vibe adds to that moving touch. 'B&B' also has a private quality to it with the lyrics "Even my own mother cannot take me back".

Continue reading: Little Comets - Hope Is Just A State Of Mind Album Review

Having quickly established itself as the best metropolitan music festival in the UK, Live At Leeds returned over the warm bank holiday weekend to send a spark of excitement and energy fizzing through the city's streets. As ever with LAL - and most other festivals - line-up clashes were inevitable though it did little to dampen the atmosphere of what proved to be one of the best Live at Leeds offerings yet.

The thing to remember when wandering the streets with a crumpled programme trying to figure out if you can sprint from Brudenell Social Club to The Wardrobe in under 8 minutes is that you really don't need to. The whole point of Live at Leeds is that there's always someone playing, somewhere, and it makes for a far richer experience to circle a couple of your must-sees though pretty much go with the flow of the festival.

Incidentally - after a visit to the Holy Trinity Church to catch the end of the impressive Harry George Johns - the first real port of call was the horrendously busy Cockpit venue in the city centre, where queues snaked up and down the street with hundreds of fans desperate to gain access. Luckily, organisers had put together a pretty tasty schedule for the venue so waiting wristband holders were eventually treated to something worth queuing for.

Continue reading: Live at Leeds 2013 - Live Review

We all have that one album that defines a section of our lives. It might be the first album you bought, or an album you listened to during a memorable holiday, or an album that reminds you of time spent with a loved one.

This is what 'Life is Elsewhere' by Little Comets is to me. Not only is it one of the most daring, groundbreaking and enjoyable albums of the past year, it has been the 'soundtrack' to a certain section of my life.

As that section was drawing to a close, this felt like the perfect opportunity to sample 'Life is Elsewhere' (what an aptly named album, by the way) in a live environment.

Continue reading: Little Comets - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire 10th April 2013 Live Review 2013

"Kitchen sink indie". This is how the Wikipedia page for Little Comets describes their music. Now, I'm no expert on kitchen sinks, but I've never considered my sink to be a musical genre. I'm not sure what it means, but perhaps we can find another pretentious term to describe the Mackem four piece.

'Life is Elsewhere' is the second album from the band and, for the first time, they have been able to transfer the elegance, complexity and power of their live shows onto a record. 'Life is Elsewhere' feels like the kind of album that will propel Little Comets into the festival main stage league. 

'A Little Opus' opens up the record and will come as no surprise to long-term admirers of Little Comets. The spiky, slightly awkward guitar followed by the delicate vocals of Robert Coles open the door to 'Life is Elsewhere' in typical Little Comets style. It's what comes after that really marks the arrival of Little Comets MK2. The song bursts into the kind of chorus that wouldn't be out of place on The Maccabees mercury nominated third album 'Given To The Wild'. It's an absolute epic that sets the tone for the rest of the album.

Continue reading: Little Comets - Life Is Elsewhere Album Review

In Search Of Elusive Little Comets is the debut album from Newcastle-based four-piece Little Comets, who's alternative fusion combines a perky indie-disco edge with a confident, eclectic blend. The result is outstanding; an album that takes the best parts of contemporary indie successes and throws them into a musical melting pot from which Little Comets have churned out this precise, fresh and well-considered offering.

Opening tracks 'Adultery' and 'One Night In October' sound instantly familiar with the catchy and confident indie strut of the likes of Bombay Bicycle Club, Foals and The Maccabees; a sound which flows effortlessly throughout In Search Of Elusive Little Comets. 'One Night In October' sounds the first of many strong kicking choruses on the album, ridden with a funky, feel-good, indie disco pound and tight guitar riffs. The interlocking guitars and funky bass and drum parts continue through a similarly catchy, danceable groove through 'Joanna' and many of the following tracks on the album.

'Her Black Eyes' proves something of a contrast to the establisher indie-disco vibe with spacey delayed electric and gentle acoustic guitars providing a calmer accompaniment to Robert Coles' distinctive singing and whooping vocals; the strum of the acoustic guitar and strong pluck of the acoustic bass forms an accidental gentle percussive accompaniment. Later in the track, the drums and melodic accompaniment kick in sounding flavours of Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire. The flavours of Vampire Weekend, both vocally and in the catchy, light-hearted musical vibe, are sounded later in 'Tricolour' and the energetic 'Dancing Song', eclectic with all its random whistling and synth sounds.

Continue reading: Little Comets, In Search Of Elusive Little Comets Album Review