Photos: Alessio Michelini
Gomez, Little Comets (Olympia, Dublin) on June 19th
Little Comets certainly know how to grab a few chuckles in the music industry. The press release for debut album ‘In Search Of The Little Comets’ amused journalist aplenty with claims they’re influenced by acts as diverse as Paul Simon and French classical composer Claude Debussy, as well as infamous children’s author Roald Dahl. The reality, clearly, was never going to be quite as eclectic.
In fact, as infectious and downright danceable as they can be, Little Comets are still a fairly bog standard indie rock band. While there are plenty of smiles and fun-loving riffs scattered through their set – far more than their well-publicized dislike of touring might suggest – the stage set up looks notably amateurish. Percussion hangs on a frayed blue rope across the front of the stage, and at times the sound hangs together by a thread. ‘This One’s For Dancing’ probably sums up Little Comets in a single quick-fire hit: imaginative and musically intelligent, but spoiled by a lack of attention to detail. The lyrics to that particular effort are so simplistic and irritating that they make a great advert for instrumental music. Still, given the level of quirky asides that occasionally flit in a side door, they’re a work in process that seems well worth keeping an eye on.
Gomez’s latest effort ‘Whatever’s On Your Mind’ suffers from the same problem as most post Liquid Skin albums: their style has mellowed substantially, and the accessible angst of ‘Liquid Skin’ and ‘Bring It On’ – albums so popular that the band once headlined the second stage at Glastonbury to what’s thought to be the stage’s largest audience to date – seems a thing of the past. Compare Gomez’s modern day performances to the ones they were churning out those days, and there’s no denying that just a little bit of that heady edge has crept from their style.
Still, for a group that have all the aesthetic appeal of the cast of Big Bang Theory playing rock band, they do make one monstrous noise. Ben Ottewell – who’s solo set in the Academy 2 a few months ago, in truth, blew tonight’s set out of the water – is still the star, with his deep, soulful vocals eclipsing his band mates comfortably for star quality. Ian Ball and Tom Gray, who share what’s left of the vocal duties, frankly wallow in his substantial verbal shadow, but they do offer a stark live contrast; another layered or contrasting feel next to Ottewell’s brilliant starkness.
The likes of ‘Get Myself Arrested’ and ‘Bring It On’ are obvious highlights, and there’s no arguing with the quality that gets an otherwise flat crowd leaping manically and screaming back the words when ‘Get Myself Arrested’ hits its highs. ‘Get Miles’ and ‘Whipping Picadilly’ both bring back the band’s career highlights with style, too, while the newer efforts are not completely without their charm. Title track ‘Whatever’s On Your Mind’ and daze-rock album opener ‘Options’ offer the nu-Gomez peaks. Still, a show like tonight’s only tops out sporadically, and is clearly a little ‘Gomez-lite’ for most.
We can take it as a given that the west-coast Brits are unlikely to ever match the quality of their early output, or play with the passion that propelled it. As long as they can still churn out plenty of those songs well, though, and scatter their set heavily with them, they’ll be an act worth watching. Just expect the spate of newer material to be met, largely, with ample indifference.