In retrospect, it’s painful how obvious an open avenue this was for Grouper’s Liz Harris, at least partially because so few of us took the time to acknowledge it during our gazing out of droplet-covered windows. The drowning vocals on aural display across her discography (excepting the unusually clear Ruins, one of our favorites of 2014) were and are perfectly suited for something in the vicinity of a psychedelic rock outfit! You might not have predicted it, given the minor key that pervades most of her songs, but a certain hint came back in 2013, when a band named Helen quietly released a single on iTunes. Supposedly, some sort of “thrash band” was included in Helen’s initial mission statement, so the question now becomes… have we arrived?
Click play below (or here!) to listen to the first single off Helen’s debut album The Original Faces, set for release September 4 on Kranky. Joining the distinctly Elizabethan (nickname: Liz) presence on the track and in Helen generally are Jed Bindeman (also of Eternal Tapestry) on drums, Scott Simmons on bass and guitar, and an apparitional being known only as the eponymous “Helen” supposedly contributing backup vocals. Sounds creepy to me, even if the ghost of the Greek adulterer did earn respect over the album’s years in the making.
Neither thrash nor creepy though, here’s the promising track:
The Original Faces tracklisting:
01. Ryder
02. Motorcycle
03. Covered in Shade
04. Felt This Way
05. Pass Me By
06. Right Outcome
07. Allison
08. Dying All the Time
09. Grace
10. City Breathing
11. Violet
12. The Original Faces
• Kranky: http://www.kranky.net
More about: Eternal Tapestry, Grouper, Helen, Liz Harris
