Help Stamp Out Loneliness - Help Stamp Out Loneliness
Help Stamp Out Loneliness are, as you could probably guess from that name, indie pop. But not of the fey and twee variety, or the sharp and scratchy variety. Maybe it's also in part the resemblance of their album cover to that of "Slight Return", but there's something in their jangly, richly melodic sound that puts me in mind of The Bluetones. Long time readers will know that that is very much a good thing in my books.
Both the voice of D Lucille Campbell and the words she's singing take them to a different place from The Bluetones though. Somewhere between Nico and Morrissey, she sings in a knowingly witty, self deprecating way, expertly treading a line between humour and emotion as she suffers breakdowns in record shops and sings lines like "She said maybe he is not a real man/I'm not so sure, cos you don't even like Wham".
The album is also bookended by two joyful epics. "Cottonopolis & Promises" slowly builds anticipation before twinkling keyboards and guitar riffs which wouldn't be too far out of place on Los Campesinos!' début take over. "Split Infinitives" bounds to a huge singalong chorus finale of its own, and then steals one from Arab Strap to take things up even further.
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