Comet Gain- Howl of The Lonely Crowd

Broken Record Prayers, Comet Gain's 2009 singles collection, is a sleeper of a record. Various incarnations of Comet Gain have been putting out records for almost two decades now, and compiling a whole album's worth of one-off singles, rarities, session tracks, and whatnot (Comet Gain's Hatful of Hollow???) was a nice gesture. Two years later, with (per the norm) some new members in tow, and headed up by Edwyn Collins, Ryan Jarman (The Cribs), and Brian O'Shaughnessy (whose production credits include Denim, Moose, Beth Orton, and The Clientele), Comet Gain have delivered their most fully-realized album. There are a bunch of songs about literary and pop-culture icons, but there are also some gentle acoustic ballads. The best of the lot, though, are "Some of Us Don't Want to Be Saved", my second-favorite atheistic anthem of 2011 and "The Ecstatic Library", a heartfelt paean to a record collection. I've always felt that Comet Gain is the rightful heir to the legacy of the Go-Betweens, and this record seals the deal.