Little Comets

Where : Shepherd Bush Empire

I meet the Little Comets in a very steamy dressing room at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Lead singer Rob has just showered leaving the humidity in the room somewhere around Amazon rainforest. The guys don’t seem to notice this as they banter amongst themselves. Nor do they seem to notice how massive today is for them, with new single 'Adultery' being released and supporting the Noisettes later on that evening. “I downloaded it twice on iTunes” says Mickey, lead guitar, but that’s about as much overt enthusiasm as the band are willing to show. It’s not that the band are ice-cold affected wankers; in fact they’re quite the opposite. It’s that they’re a band who are entirely about having and creating good times. They’re just pleased the singles out there. You should be too, because it’s marvellous. 'Adultery' is possibly the finest example of “geordie-jumper afro beat” you could ever hope to fill your ears with. “Geordie-jumper afro beat” was the band’s response when I asked them how they would classify themselves. It roughly translates as “wonderfully infectious and vibrant rock combined with intelligent and relevant lyricism”.  Have a listen and I’m sure you’ll agree.

It’s not long before conversation turns to the band’s notorious impromptu gigs. Little Comets have a habit of turning up at the most unexpected places (trains, trams, lecture theatres) and brightening the day of whoever is lucky enough to find themselves plucked out of their routine and into a mini-gig packed full of glorious songs.  “We like having literally captive audience” says drummer Mark, “it’s great to see how they react.” I ask them why they do it and Rob says it’s a way of being productive whilst they’re in a town or city waiting to perform that evening. “Most bands just sit around doing nothing, doing the bare minimum. We always like to be doing something.” The general public seem to love these boys random spurts of industriousness, check out the Youtube videos. They admit though that not everyone is happy to see them. Rob tells me that most lecturers they interrupt have a “fight or flight response”; whether they try and remove the band themselves or flee to deliver a bewildered plea of aid to the nearest member of security. “The students love it though, its like a scene out of some sort of American teen movie.” They tell me the tale of the last invasion of a lecture theatre in Cambridge, where as they were steeling themselves to go in and interrupt the lecture they were confronted by a “terrible, Scottish, grumpy hellraiser”. They assured him they were just waiting outside for a friend, but burst in as soon as his back was turned. “He looked genuinely hurt when we came in and started playing” says bassist Matt.

They don’t just play in unusual spaces but rehearse in them too. They tell me when they rented out some disused offices above a tanning shop called Tanfastic. “The view from the windows was great, especially in the evening when you got the sunset behind these derelict buildings. We like to rehearse in spaces with windows, which you just don’t get in the studio. We used to watch kids bunking off school in the afternoon, drinking and stuff.” The guys clearly take a lot of inspirations from their surroundings; you can hear it in lyrics which are constantly described as being pure “kitchen sink”. The band claim not to be consciously aiming for that rather that they like to write about what they see, to “quietly observe” and from that create something that “warms you up”. However you define what and whys that go into their songs, you can’t deny that it goes down a treat.

'Adultery'

They’re definitely a band that likes the personal touch. With their last single, 'One Night in October', everyone who pre-ordered a copy got their own little message from the band. They also take this attitude to their live performances where they often dangle random percussive instruments above them to tinker with as they play. Just before I leave Mark tells me of a new instrument they’ve created, a beat up cymbal attached to a small steel pan that is simply known as “The Thing”. “It makes a great sound, but sound engineers get really annoyed with it. They keep asking how they’re supposed to mike it up”. Fuss-pot sound engineers aside the band seem pretty stoked for tonight as we part company, and so am I. These guys create intelligent and rousing rock without any hint of pretence. The whole appeal of Little Comets is the abundant sense of handcrafted, bespoke fun and I was itching to see how that came across when seeing them live.

By the time Little Comets graced the stage the good mood I was in when I said goodbye to them had completely evaporated. I’d made the mistake of spending the intervening hours between interview and gig at the nearby Westfield shopping centre, surrounded by shops that sell things without prices because presumably if they told you the shock would induce an instant and fatal brain tumour. However as soon as Little Comets struck up the first chord of 'Adultery' all was well again. The band, I’m pleased to say played up a storm. There was a great sense of camaraderie that emanated from the band that drew the crowd in, and more than a few smile raised as the band members began to shake and beat the weird collection of objects suspended on a washing line above them.  The band played mostly songs that I’d heard of their Myspace page, such as the sublime 'Joanna', tub-thumping going out song 'Friday Don’t Need It' and previous single 'One Night in October'. What really shone through hearing these songs live were the lush harmonies (particularly in the vocals) and just how inventive they are with percussion, experimenting with objects to achieve a far richer sound than can be created by kit alone. (The Thing, by the way, was definitely a candidate to become a fifth member of Little Comets) It also adds to the bands charm; using objects in songs which may well have been part of the scenery that inspired them shows the working of very fertile creative minds. There was on really on lull in the set, during 'Her Black Eyes', but this was more due to the song’s more languid sound not working well with a not-yet settled down crowd rather than it’s quality.

Little Comets have been earmarked by many as being “the next big thing”. I really hope that they aren’t. Don’t get me wrong, I hope that they sell a kajillion records and become insanely popular, they certainly deserve to.  It’s just that I want them to stay as they are, practising in disused buildings, beating the hell out of a saucepan then performing in the bakery section of a Marks and Spencers because the result is fantastic music and an enormous sense of fun. I’m sure they will whatever happens to them, because flying a hat across the Atlantic on a private jet or interrupting someone else receiving an award would ruin that and just make you a massive, massive wanker. 

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