With ‘Letters To Ordinary Outsiders’, Comet Gain offer a collection of wistful, and occasionally whimsical, indie-pop tunes. For all of the wordy, witty titles, these songs are lo-fi and unpretentious. I mean, not that lo-fi when there’s piano and brass, and not that unpretentious when referencing psychogeography and the like, but you get the idea: the songs are accessible and melodic and jangly, and intended to be encouraging, a sort of group hug of an album for all of the ‘ordinary outsiders’, who they describe as ‘The wayward, hungry, tender, bruised, scared, defiant, shy but knowing, blessed with unseen magic, keeping their flames hidden away until needed, waiting for the time to let rip their powers in this age of hopelessness. In this TikTok narcissist era they hide from the spotlight but in their hearts are all reaching for the total Whatever-It-Is. These songs are postcards to and for them’, adding ‘you can’t go wrong in hard times with a sense of belonging’.
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‘Beat of the Veins’ takes a punkier approach, while ‘Threads!’ leans heavily on The Fall, and there’s more of a melodic 70s rock feel to ‘Do You Remember The “Lites on the Water”’
Some of the songs are introduced with radio-style spoken interludes, something which only enhances the retro vibe alluded to by the cover, and while there are serious topics touched upon in places, the overall feel of the album is light-hearted and breezy and easy on the ear.
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