It has been a few years since Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Little Comets broke onto the indie scene like a storm of well, comets. Lead single ‘One Night In October’ (below) and its follow-up ‘Adultery’ certainly made it on to a lot of playlists back in late 2009. When the time came for the band’s debut LP, ‘In Search Of Elusive Little Comets,’ to appear in January of this year, it brought with it ‘Lost Time’: an upbeat, jaunty number that really takes hold of the brain and had this writer whistling the tune all day. Or it would have, except that my whistling of the track would have been a horrific insult to the band.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thankfully, Little Comets are back and raring to go once more. They’ve just released an EP – ‘Worry’ – and are psyched up to tour the nation in spring, as well as playing a few intimate gigs in select locations across the festive period. Members Robert and Michael Coles (lead vocals/guitar and lead guitar/secondary vocals, respectively), alongside bassist Matt Hall, were kind enough to answer a few questions in the run-up to the EPs release. No whistling was involved.

“I think [the EP] straddles quite similar lines to the [first] album in that the lyrics are fairly dark but musically it is still very major key and chirpy,” say the band. “We’ve definitely made a concerted effort to leave more space in the recordings this time though. I think with the first album we were scared to have parts of songs where nothing was happening melodically or percussively but for the EP we tried to rein ourselves in a little. We’ve been listening to a lot of older records so it probably comes from that…. hopefully it translates well and maybe comes across as a little more of a confident and mature sound.”

A quick listen to the lead track from the EP (also called ‘Worry’: these guys are apprehensive types, clearly) is a reassuring experience. The band has retained that spiky feel that was very present on the debut LP, but they’re also taking the music forward: there’s some rather jolly (it’s OK to use the word jolly, it’s Christmas) guitar work going down and the song is infectious without being irritating. Check it out at http://www.shout4music.com/video/watch-little-comets-worry/.

Something that ran as a vague theme across ‘In Search Of Elusive Little Comets’ was a political dimension to the band’s music. One track on that album, for example, was titled ‘Darling Alistair’ while another (‘Isles’) spoke of the state of Britain today, all bleak streets and ‘terror on the pavement,’ albeit not sung in a gloomy manner. Are politics and social issues a major concern for Little Comets, and do we see them on ‘Worry’?

“I don’t think there is anything overtly political on the EP,” say the guys. “A couple of [the] songs are about domestic violence and abusive relationships which I think is a really important issue, especially in times when a lot of problems dwelt upon in mass media are very macroscopic… no matter what subject a song is about it should be possible to write about it in an intelligent way, so I suppose that’s all we try to do.”

And others have noticed how the odd social concern has shaped what’s otherwise fairly upbeat music. Tour the Internet for a few minutes and you’ll quickly come across this band being described as ‘kitchen sink indie’.

“We don’t really spend time worrying about what people want to describe us as,” state a relaxed Little Comets. “I suppose that [kitchen sink indie] in itself could mean a myriad of things so it still leaves a lot open to interpretation.”

Looking to the future then, and the band’s upcoming tour, which begins in February and takes in venues in places such as Manchester, Glasgow and Brighton. Expect jauntiness and audience empathy, apparently.

“It’s a different challenge to make a song connect live as opposed to on a recording as you’re entirely reliant on the moment and the delivery,” say the band. “We try to retain the percussive elements of our songs in quite a visual way with the use of many instruments which we suspend above the stage, and with lots of backing vocals. I suppose we just try to give a really emotionally honest performance and use as much of the crowd’s energy as possible.”

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It’s time to welcome the new French touch. 14 years after Daft Punk stunned the dance world with their debut LP, former ‘Punk pal Gildas Loaëc—mastermind behind trend-shaping label Kitsuné— and artist friend André’ Saraiva are showing us how things are done across the Channel in 2011. This is a compilation album which swings from boisterous, blistering techno (‘Behold’ by Beataucue) to infuriatingly funky jaunts (’1999′ by Valley). In the gap between, Kitsuné eschew the more indie leanings of their previous Kitsuné Maison compilations (so don’t expect Foals or Late Of The Pier), instead choosing to fill the bulk of this offering with pop-inflected electro, shown off by ‘Horrors Of Love’, with its chaotic vocal delivery courtesy of Kitsuné buddy Jenny Wilson, and Adelaide’s ‘Destin’, a track so French it’s practically waving a baguette at you. There’s little doubt that Kitsuné Parisien serves up some pretty aural delights on a plate for your inspection, and it’s a fantastic insight into what’s occurring on the French scene at the moment; Birkii’s ‘Shade Of Doubt’, a particularly sensual piece of dream-pop, is alone worth checking the LP out for. Though hardly essential overall, there’s plenty to enjoy exploring here.

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Jaunty, playful and with a knack of cooking up perfectly poppy numbers, Little Comets unleash their debut album on the world. At times, this quartet recall the carefree indie of Razorlight and The Kooks, all spiky guitars and streetwise vocal delivery; just see ‘Darling Alastair’. But this bunch like to mix things up. This is music infused with an international feel, borrowing grooves from genres such as afrobeat and melding them seamlessly into the flow of the album. The LP possesses the sound of a British band unfettered by the limitations of genre and time; take ‘Adultery’ or ‘Isles’, two tracks which sound as if they could hail from the Caribbean, as opposed to the band’s native Geordieland. The latter track is one place, of several, where Little Comets are also reminiscent of MGMT, delivering toe-tapping grooves that’ll make you reach for your dancing shoes. Filled with killer hooks most chart hit writers would kill for—hello ‘Lost Time’—this debut is a master-class in warm, inventive indie-pop. Socio-political quasi-ballad ‘Intelligent Animals’, the album’s closer, is a slight mistread, but overall this is a collection of songs that could brighten the coldest February day. An infectious and electric debut.

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Thirteen Senses have steadily built their fan base over the course of the last decade, and ‘The Loneliest Star’—a dreamy piece of indie-pop— is the opening shout from their third LP. Singer Will South’s near-falsetto vocals reach dizzying heights in the track’s chorus, but for a man singing about isolated stellar constellations, there’s little wallowing in self-pity here. Instead, the band opt for a somewhat muscular track, driven by a powerful combination of keys and guitars. Lyrics like “Modern man has a heart of stone/In this we are ordinary” give the track a hint of yearning, present yet never fully explored. In fact, “The Loneliest Star” hovers between being cloying and space-like and hinting that the band would like to unleash a more aggressive side, leaving the end result far from dull but a little muddled. ‘The Loneliest Star’ isn’t the electric tour-de-force it seems this band are capable of, but it’s an enjoyable trip to the heavens all the same, which should appeal to both established fans and more casual listeners.

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Twisted Tongue’s second LP spreads itself across a canvas of genres, among them funk, rock and soul. In doing so, it feels as though it consists of two intermingled components. The first contains tracks like ‘I Bury The Living’, with its squealing guitars, and ‘Nemelo Bolo’, a tour-de-force of early Daft Punk groove and obscure sampling; these kind of tracks represent Twisted Tongue’s funk-psyche attack on the senses. Meanwhile, nestled neatly amongst the album’s sharper-edged moments, are the LP’s more laid-back soul offerings; tracks like ‘The Audience’, which sizzle with a heady atmosphere but lack the punch of the LP’s rockier moments, providing instead intermittent breaks from the action. ‘I’ve Seen Better Days’, with its looping strings providing a suitable backdrop to Johanna Lee’s Prince-esque delivery, is the best of the bunch. ‘Mindbeam (Part 3)’ is the standout here. Setting the scene with a slow-burning jazzy intro, things soon explode into a series of philosophical mantas, rapped out over a resounding funk groove. A relentless onslaught of doctrine and beats, this track hardly lets up. Though this album’s dual nature won’t appeal to all in equal measure, it’s nonetheless an LP seeped in big grooves and a lot of heart.

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The Whigs are quickly earning their rock stripes, touring with the Kings Of Leon for a start. And whatever you think of the latter, it’s hard to deny that The Whigs are bringing the garage rock attitude to the people. ‘Hundred/Million’ feels dirty, in that sleazy way that only rock ‘n’ roll can—think the Rolling Stones, The Young Heart Attack and early Strokes to name but a few. Parker Gispert’s vocals, delivered somewhere between caustic and laconic, fit the bill rather well, establishing a devil-may-care attitude that pervades the whole song. Meanwhile, Gispert is ably backed up by a resounding bass groove and some mean drums, which, being almost robotic, gets this single well and truly stuck in your head. ‘Hundred/Million’ isn’t quite on the money as a single: while the song has an urgency and a welcome grittiness, the band let the air out of the balloon to an extent with an unfulfilling chorus, which seeks to uplift but instead feels uninspiring. Still, this lot are worthy watching, and shaping up to be near essential for garage rockers yearning for something with more edge than the Kings Of Leon.

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French electro/indie outfit Kitsune have spent much of the last few years championing some of the cream of the crop of up-and-comers in the genre—Foals, The Passions, La Roux– through their singles and compilations. Clock Opera are the label’s latest hope, with a single that’s apparently based on a play by Ontroerend Goed. Whatever its inspiration, ‘Once…’ is a slow-burner, building steam initially with a key-driven intro before vocalist Guy Connelly chimes in. The momentum churns away, until eventually the dams burst and the track floods into full flow. It’s well worth the wait, with Connelly’s heartfelt, uplifting vocals taking over, exploding into the soundscape like a firework. On B-side duty, Clive Tanaka’s remix pulls back the layers and keeps things sparse, but loses little of the magic for it. Meanwhile, Little Loud’s take begins with a whimper, but soon takes control with driving, formidable synth dazzle. ‘Once…’, then, feels irresistible, separated from the pack of synth-driven indie artists by virtue of an inspiring vocal performance and some worthy remixes.

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Mike Marlin sounds like a cross between a classically trained vocalist and your dad singing karaoke at your local on a Friday night. Doing it well, mind, but not quite enough to make you take the effort too seriously. That’s the kind of feeling you get here, on this eclectic cover of the Bee Gees disco classic ‘Stayin’ Alive’. Singer and bassist Marlin has chosen this swinging cover for his debut release, eschewing in the process a whole album worth of his only creations from his forthcoming ‘Nearly Man’ LP, and does a solid, if not stunning, job of dragging the Bee Gees hit from the much-lampooned disco floors of the ‘70s to a velvet-chaired jazz club, somewhere in time. The song does ooze a peculiar charm, which disturbs as much as it entertains, and will have you singing along, possessing as it does a tough-to-resist allure. There’s no doubting that this is an interesting take on an instantly recognizable pop number. Will it win Marlin a horde of new fans? Perhaps not, but open-minded types with an appreciation of musical eccentricity might just want to have a listen.

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Earlier this year, Temper Trap’s remixed track ‘Sweet Disposition’ drew the public’s attention, and now the band have decided that none of the songs on ‘Conditions’, their debut, exist in static form: everything is fit to be dissected and put back together by a host of guests, including Sister Bliss from Faithless and Adam Freeland. It’s Sister Bliss’ effort that starts up the album with her take on ‘Love Lost’, which plays things satisfying safe with clubland beats which ascend upwards toward an ecstatic moment that’s always on the horizon. And while RUSKO’s version of ‘Soldier On’ feels a little staid, the album as a whole is sprinkled with variety and little magic moments. Alan Wilkis conjures beguiling soundscapes early on, his house beats a suitable accompaniment to Dougy Mandagi’s soulful vocals, while the Penguin Prison remix of ‘Resurrection’ is a triumph. Later tracks feel almost hijacked by their respective editors, but this isn’t really a bad thing. Witness ‘The Science Of Fear’, collapsing from ramshackle indie-dance to menacing drum ‘n’ bass. And the final track sees rapper Kate Tempest take control with her Speech Debelle-esque rhymes. Not a perfect collection, then, but a generally absorbing ride all the same.

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Toronto’s Modern Superstitions pack quite a punch with this, their debut EP, which offers six tracks which encompass a whole bunch of influences, but generally fall under the punk-indie banner. With jaunty rhythms and some spiky guitars, the band echo the cream of the crop of female-fronted punk bands who have strutted their stuff over the years, from Blondie to The Distillers. Meanwhile, there’s a quality to Modern Superstitions’ sound that’s reminiscent of Razorlight. Opener ‘The Go-Between’ is straight forward, setting the scene nicely with blitzing guitars, but is perhaps a little forgettable. Next comes ‘Visions Of You’, where the band’s mix of genres is revealed. One moment vocalist Nyssa Rosaleen is crooning soulfully like some remnant from the golden age of Motown, and then suddenly everything picks up again, and Rosaleen is angrily squawking like the best of them. So does it work? It certainly offers some interesting twists and turns which help keep Modern Superstitions sounding fresh for most of the EP. Meanwhile, the band’s occasional aggro overtures sometimes come off as hack-eyed and tiresome.  Overall, this is a generally winsome bunch of tunes which keep you on your toes.

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