The Portastylistic: pop*eye...God Help The Girl

‘God Help The Girl’
; A Story Set To Music By Stuart Murdoch Of Belle & Sebastian

‘God Help The Girl’ is a story set to music, which Stuart Murdoch has been working on intermittently for the last five years, its origin in some songs that were written while Belle and Sebastian were touring ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’ in 2004. Stuart explains:

Stuart Murdoch

"I was out for a run and I got this tune in my head and it occurred to me that it wasn't a Belle & Sebastian song. I could hear female voices and strings, I could hear the whole thing, but I just couldn’t envisage myself singing it with the group.”

As more songs emerged, a shape and theme began to develop, before the music was actually recorded, or the vocalists found to take on the parts.

“All the time I was touring with Belle and Sebastian, I was putting aside songs for certain characters,” he says, “and at one point I realised, that it would make sense to string them together to form the backbone of a musical narrative.”

Belle and Sebastian

The hunt was then on to find some great new voices to put to use during the recordings. A competition where singers could add their vocals to the demo recordings of ‘Funny Little Frog’ and ‘The Psychiatrist Is In’ was posted on the iMeem social networking site and attracted around 400 entries. From these, Brittany Stallings (Olympia, Washington) and Dina Bankole (Jackson, Michigan) came to Glasgow in February 2008 to rehearse and record some parts, Brittany making the lead vocal part on ‘Funny Little Frog’ her own.

God Help The Girl :: “Funny Little Frog”

Brittany Stallings

Dina Bankole

The main star of the show, though, is Limerick girl Catherine Ireton, who sings on 10 of the 14 tracks. Interestingly, she appeared on the sleeve of Belle & Sebastian’s last single, White Collar Boy (see below).

Catherine Ireton

Among those who auditioned early in the process was Catherine Ireton, who had moved from Limerick to Glasgow, a friend of a friend, who had previously appeared on the sleeve of Belle and Sebastian’s last single, ‘The White Collar Boy.’ She took on the lead vocals for the majority of the songs on the record.

The recording continued during 2008, with a total of nine different singers (including Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy and Asya from American teen trio, Smoosh) joining the members of Belle and Sebastian over the course of a few months. During this, Mick Cooke’s orchestral arrangements were recorded in London with the orchestra before the finishing touches were applied in Glasgow.

Celia Garcia
*Lovely...y

Several were discovered by Murdoch in an open call for singers back in 2007 such as American pair Dina Bankole and Brittany Stallings, while Scotland is represented by local lass Celia Garcia (see top picture).

The result is a breathtaking record from one of pop’s most singular voices, combining the strengths and feel of the early Belle and Sebastian records in a broader musical palette, which draws equally on musicals, sixties’ girl groups, eighties’ indie and, most of all, classic pop records. And, in Catherine, Stuart has found a rare talent - her clear, lilting vocals bringing to life the characters in Stuart’s imagination and making for an ambitious and engrossing musical journey

Alex Klobouk

As for the reason to bring in different vocalists, Murdoch goes into detail as to why he decided to go this route, “I was out for a run and I got this tune in my head and it occurred to me that it wasn’t a Belle & Sebastian song. I could hear female voices and strings, I could hear the whole thing, but I just couldn’t envisage myself singing it with the group.” He continues, “All the time I was touring with Belle and Sebastian, I was putting aside songs for certain characters,” he says, “and at one point I realized, that it would make sense to string them together to form the backbone of a musical narrative.”

Catherine and Laura

God Help The Girl

The album is set to be released on June 22nd (23rd in the US) with the single “Come Monday Night” due out on May 11th. You can hear that single below, which features the vocals of Catherine Ireton (the female on the cover of the “White Collar Boy” single), who also serves as one of the primary vocalists on the record. From what I’ve heard so far, this is essentially Belle & Sebastian at it’s purest. It’s heavenly indie pop, that would almost be impossible not to like. The different vocalists add an interesting dynamic to many of these familiar songs; along with them being completely reworked, which happens to still sound very fresh. I’m sure many will just groan and would rather have a new album, but I would suggest to give this one a listen.

God Help The Girl :: “Come Monday Night”

God Help The Girl
The full tracklisting is below, with guest vocalists noted:

Tracklisting / Vocalist

01. Act of the Apostle (Catherine Ireton)
02. God Help the Girl (Catherine Ireton)
03. Pretty Eve in the Tub (Stuart Murdoch and Catherine Ireton)
04. A Uniﬁed Theory (Instrumental)
05. Hiding Neath My Umbrella (Catherine Ireton and Stuart Murdoch)
06. Funny Little Frog (Brittany Stallings)
07. If You Could Speak (Catherine Ireton and Anna Miles)
08. Musician Please Take Heed (Catherine Ireton)
09. Perfection as a Hipster (Neil Hannon and Catherine Ireton)
10. Come Monday Night (Catherine Ireton)
11. Music Room Window (Instrumental)
12. I Just Want His Jeans (Asya)
13. I’ll Have to Dance With Cassie (Catherine Ireton)
14. A Down and Dusky Blonde (Dina Bankole, Catherine Ireton, Celia Garcia, Brittany Stallings, Asya)

“Come Monday Night” will be the lead single, backed by a curiously titled track called “Howard Jones Is My Mozart”. That’s one song I’m dying to here.