It began with an unexpected melody stuck in the head of a musician. Soon after, an ad showed up in the classifieds saying, “Girl singer needed for autumnal recording project. Must have a way with a tune. Celion Dion wannabes, save your breath.” Three Scottish women were selected, the band was assembled and God Help the Girl was formed.

Stuart Murdoch, the crooning male counterpart in the band Belle & Sebastian, had a story to tell, a story he wanted told through songs, but couldn’t picture his already well-established band performing them. Instead, he envisioned the story to be sung by its characters, and he enlisted the help of singing ingénues Catherine Ireton, Celia Garcia, and Alex Klobouk to do so. Stuart also provides vocals on the album but these three lucky girls who answered the newspaper ad on a whim sing most of the songs.

Without any doubt God Help the Girl is one of the best albums and bands I’ve heard in a very long time. As promised, each song tells the story, containing an additional piece of the album’s plot and a dash of character development, making it feel more like a soundtrack to a musical. From the very first track, “Act of the Apostle,” originally a Belle & Sebastian song which acts as the prologue, we are drawn in by Ireton’s gorgeous voice as she sighs, “I’m bored out of my mind/too sick to even care/I’ll take a little walk/Nobody’s going to know,” and leads us into her character’s life. The song is followed by quirky, melodic “chapters” such as “Pretty Eve in the Tub,” “Perfection as a Hipster,” and the excellent “Musicians, Please Take Heed” which sounds like a mix between ABBA’s “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” and Blondie’s “Atomic.” There is not one track that feels out of place as the story crescendos to a close with the final track, “A Down and Dusky Blonde,” probably the best on the entire album.

With guest vocals by sixteen-year-old Asya, from the Seattle-based band Smoosh, and Neil Hannon from the Divine Comedy, the album is a wonderfully random mix of truly talented singers and musicians. There is a nostalgic taste of 60s guitar rifts in each track as well as trumpets and swooping orchestra compositions, all of which giving the album a very original, yet familiar feel.

Although the album is complete, Stuart Murdoch is not finished telling his story. He has already written the script for a God Help the Girl movie and plans to begin production with his lovely singers in 2010. With the amount of talent and passion squeezed into the album, I’m sure we can expect one hell of a film when it’s finished.

The God Help the Girl album will be released on June 23, 2009. For now, check out the official video for the single, “Come Monday Night.”

Popularity: 6% [?]