The misfit jukebox

"Stalwart indie outsiders put another dime in: One could argue they're the true British carriers of the torch, if "indie" means early Orange Juice rather than surly Oasis. Like most of their output, this is a touching, often inspired, certainly jangly mess. With mainstay David Christian at the centre, the shifting collective offers here a "career"-spanning compilation of out-takes, demos, live cuts and random covers, ranging from 60s-tinged girl-band pop to breakneck Postcard-meets-Dexys aestheticised adrenalin. The new song, "Even This Could Be Beautiful", is their own defiantly lo-fi, autobiographical (sort of) origin story. And, somehow, beautiful it is".

"Through 2022, David Christian Bower opened the metaphoric dusty boxes that constitute the Comet Gain archives, making highlights available to fans in a steady stream via Bandcamp. Across three volumes of 'Misfit Jukebox', Bower exposed some of the hidden wiring of this most quixotic of indie-pop groups (though, truth be told, they're much closer to a rough-housing soul-punk gang à la early Subway Sect). He's since edited that trio of online releases down to a 17-song, 53-minute full-length that's revelatory for both its aesthetic scope, and the tenacity and purity of Bower's vision".