Stuart Murdoch- God Help The Girl (Matador Rec)
If you didn't already know, Stuart Murdoch is the frontman for the wonderful Scottish indie sensations Belle And Sebastian. If you're not familiar with Belle And Sebastian you are missing out on some of the best music ever conceived and you should probably locate some of their catalog immediately.
Five years in the making, and his first recorded music since Belle and Sebastian's 'The Life Pursuit' in 2005, 'God Help The Girl' is a sountrack to a movie to be shot in 2010. With the help of a 45 piece orchestra, other Belle and Sebastian members, Asya from Smoosh
and various other musicians, Murdoch reworks a couple Belle and Sebastian numbers alongside a handful of new songs he penned.
Though Murdoch is a brilliant songwriter- maybe one of the most luminous of this generation- the real star of the disc is Catherine Ireton who sings the lead on most of the songs here, and is half of the acoustic duo The Go Away Birds. Ireton's voice soars over songs that could be 50's girl groups, ABBA inspired rhythms, disco, jazz, and even some Jesus and Mary Chain nods, as well as stripped down acoustic and piano driven numbers. Murdoch himself makes a couple appearances, complementing the female voices.
Much like any Belle and Sebastian release, this is filled with vast multi-instrumentation and dynamic storytelling. Unlike most Belle and Sebastian releases this is mostly female vocals and has a more theatric, movie feel to it. This was intended to be a soundtrack and it really goes sound that way, too. Ultimately, still an amazing collection of songs- not unlike if one time Belle and Sebastian singer Isobell Campbell had not departed and let Murdoch take over the mic.
For fans of Jolie Holland, Jenny Lewis, Jennifer O'Conner
