This is the 20th anniversary re-issue of Comet Gain's mid period classic City Fallen Leaves, they thought it would be the bands last, they were on the verge of disintegration and splitting to the four corners of the earth, or Bordeaux, Croydon Brighton and the states, anywhere but Seven Sisters. Comet Gain are David Christian, Anne-Laure, Kay Ishikawa, Ben Phillipson, MJ Taylor, John Slade, Bart Davenport, Darren Redmaker, Chris Apelgren, Steve Dore, Alison Cotton, Rachel Evans, the album was produced by Simon Trought at SOUP Studios.
The album opens with a quiet spoken intro before they burst into the dual vocal indie disco ready The Fists In The Pocket with the lead vocal making clear all the reasons why you walk about with your fists deep in your pockets, so don't go looking for him unless you wanna search for him on the beach, where all the guitars jangle just so, with the adrenal rush of the ever more desperate vocals.
Days I Forgot to Write Down is hushed and reflective of the thoughts you have about your place in eternity, will you be remembered or not, gentle strings and backing vocals give this a laid-back edge.
Daydream Scars is an onrush of urgent frazzled guitars and spat at us lyrics, all the things you Daydream about, drums clatter and seem on the verge of collapse when the guitar solo hits and takes us out to space.
Bored Roar is the screams of pain at being even more Bored than Iggy Pop was, the clattering guitars get good and messy, they are freaking out not knowing if they should go out or stay in, either way they will still be bored, perhaps they just need to get the hell out of Seven Sisters. Which leads us to Seven Sisters To Silverlake the magical escape to an American tour and suddenly they sound all sun dappled and out on the pull having fun in the sun, while sounding like the superstars of wallflower pop.
This English Melancholy has a fragile edge to the tale of the chambers of horrors that life has become, before it goes insane and they are never going to sleep again, these buzzing guitars will see to that at top notch volume.
The Punk Got Fucked sounds like a tour of the meanest streets of Seven Sisters by Finsbury park, all the derelicts and the time they spend, and all the records they sold for beer or drugs, the despair and lack of a future they now have, due to the onslaught of heroin and other bad addictions.
The Story of The Vivian Girls sadly isn't about their magnificent Green On Red cover version, but on the downward slide, a sad poem for a legendary lost band that has made me dig out and play my Vivian Girls album again, no bad thing.
Just One More Summer Before I Go is all they want, they don't say if it is a permanent vacation or just leaving for exile out of London, this is almost fist pumpingly anthemic in a poppy Sonic youth vein.
Draw A Smile Upon An Egg seems to be something David does when he is coming down and is trying to pull himself out of a slough of despond and be happy once more. Your Robert! No really you are, don't deny it, you really are Your Robert! Don't ever deny it and this anthem will always be yours forever, you can even get Montgomery Clift to play you in the move of your life.
Fingernailed For You is a wistful song of longing for what went down to make her Fingernailed For You, they leave it to our imagination to figure out just what the title means, is it sexual or is it drug slang or something completely different.
New Mattress a rare thing in the bedsit land of Seven Sisters, finally not on that stinking old mattress on this sliver of an Indie pop song. Gone Before We Open Our Eyes is an ode to that someone who always leaves before you wake up in the morning, the walk of shame needing to be completed before daybreak, why do you still keep giving in, are you just another notch, the gentle backing making her words seem all the more poignant.
Right Now-No is a song of sadness for the couple that should have been together forever but right Now-no they are not, the clattering guitars and urgent pleas won't change a thing. The album closes with The Ballad Of A Mix-Tape that starts with an answerphone message and then the acoustic guitars come in to describe the thought processes behind another classic throwaway mix tape recorded on a cheap cassette, while you agonize over each and every song and what is says about your friendship. He lists many of his fave bands to add to the tape, while the violin adds a bit of sadness
Find out more at https://shop.tapeterecords.com/comet-gain-city-fallen-leaves-4486 https://www.facebook.com/cometgain
