Album Review: Helen Love - "Songs From Under The Bed Vol 2"
It seems safe to say that, as of time of writing, our Album of the Year race is currently a straight contest between Helen Love's This Is My World and Bob Vylan's The Price Of Life and there's something quite enjoyable about two such different records being up there as the best two of 2022 so far. While the Vylans' album was the sound of pure feral political anger dialled up to 12, Helen's was a gentle lookback at childhood, equal parts fond, nostalgic and heartbreaking. And, clearly intent on making hay while the sun shines, the Swansea trio have now capitalised on the good press by putting out this "unreleased gems" album of songs which didn't quite make the cut for their albums from 2013-2020 and most of which were actually being thought of as potential singles at one point.
It's fitting that the opening song here, The Day We Saw The Jam Play, Helen's recollection of going to see Weller and co as a teenager ("The boy next door had Paul Weller hair/But he always preferred Secret Affair/And the Merton Parkas"), could easily have sat on This Is My World. And indeed, Helen isn't being boastful when she describes these tunes as the singles that never were - as you'd expect from her and her band, there's that heady mix of sunny melodies and thought-provoking lyrics from the sheer escapism of Fly To New York to the bittersweet reflection of Johnny Space Cadet and the nostalgia of Swansea's Got A Our Price and The Sparks One.
It's a well known fact that Helen Love albums are like pure aural prozac but this is far from an off-cuts collection - if anything all ten of the songs on here scream "I coulda been a contendaaah!" Rocky style (certainly, Lonely Boy and Disco Machine are proper pop gems which could easily have been hits in the hands of a more commercially fortunate artist). For something to cheer you up on those days when you need it, this as always comes highly recommended.
NITE SONGS RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (9/10)
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