Review of Life Is Elsewhere Album by Little Comets

"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.

Little Comets Life Is Elsewhere Album

'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.

'Jennifer' is an exciting, edgy and complex piece of pop genius, before we are greeted by a surprise in the form of 'Bayonne'. It's a simply beautiful song, something not often associated with Little Comets tracks. 

It's easy to assume that, amongst all the cheery guitars and high-pitched vocals, these songs are all relatively joyous. In truth, it couldn't be more different. 'Waiting in the Shadows in the Dead of Night' and 'Violence Out Tonight' tackle break-up and rape respectively, showing a darker side to the band. Not dissimilar to recent Foals tracks and the debut from Wild Palms, these songs are the bricks that hold the album together.

There is a real sense of maturity throughout 'Life is Elsewhere', but the band haven't forgotten how to write the kind of up-tempo, catchy track that got them to where they are. 'Worry' wouldn't feel out of place on their debut album, likewise on indie dancefloors across the country.

Little Comets have been through an awful lot during their early career, but don't go feeling sorry for them. Coming off the back of their split with major label Columbia Records and the departure of their original drummer, they have never sounded better.

If this really is "kitchen sink indie", I'm the genre's biggest fan.

Harry Moore


Official Site - http://www.littlecomets.com

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