Little Comets seem to be able to continuously release new music, filling the space between full-on albums with exciting and adventurous EPs, none more so than The Gentle and Salt, both released this year and both filled with creative and powerful songs. With a release of a third EP, The Sanguine, coming before their full album release next year of Hope Is Just A State Of Mind, it is an exciting time for Little Comets’ fans indeed.
Little Comets are renowned for their seldom found mix of chilling vocal harmonies and powerful, rock-rooted riffs, which combine so intricately on their albums. In the underground, cavernous atmosphere of Brighton’s Concorde 2, the musical qualities that make them such a distinctive act were taken to a new level. The sound quality was bordering upon perfect, and the crowd was generally merged as one entity rather than being separated by bars and railings. The only fault could be the large, vertical support beams that stand in toward the right side of the venue, which would have blocked a fair section of the band from the crowd in the area. The size of the venue was good for a band of this type – Little Comets are not the sort of band that need big arenas or venues, their sound is much more of an intimate type and the Concorde fit the bill nicely.
Little Comets’ combination of bouncy rock, thought-provoking lyrics and feel-good sound were brilliantly exhibited by the opening three songs of ‘Tricolor’, ‘Tense/Empty’ and ‘One Night In October’. The balance between melancholy, bluesy tunes and roaring pop was measured superbly; ‘Waiting in the Shadows in the Dead of Night’ was followed by ‘Joanna’, an example of how the band were able to showcase their entire repertoire whilst also maintaining the right atmosphere for an intimate gig. ‘Joanna’, for this reason, also was one of the performances of the night, with the noise in the venue reaching a club-night level.
Despite the recent outpouring of new releases and build-up to their third studio album, this was not a night for their new music. However; the only truly memorable performance of their new music was their acoustic performance of ‘Coalition of One’. The two “very” new songs that they performed were enjoyable enough but there was a general feeling from the show that the older the song, the better it was received. Perhaps this was due to the reactionary crowd; the punchy, sing-a-long songs such as ‘Dancing Song’ and ‘Isles’ from In Search of Elusive Little Comets, their first studio album, certainly were the favourites of the crowd.
Having said this, the epic that was the closing song was an event in its own. ‘In Blue Music We Trust’ is their most orchestral, all-genre-encompassing record and finished the night in style. Unfortunately, there was to be no encore due to a curfew, but the band did a meet and greet session afterwards to compensate. The night was a great experience, with the venue and band combining to provide a fantastic show.
