I think at a certain point in their long existence people took The Ramones for granted. And, in a way that would make Ramones fan Helen Love smile, Helen Love (the band) face a similar thing. I've been listening to this Cardiff crew for at least 25 years so take it from me when I say that this band has always deserved far more attention and appreciation. And if you're a fan of DIY pop of the highest order, or catchy numbers every bit the equal of those of Joey and Johnny's, you need the group's new compilation, Yeah Yeah We're Helen Love.
Collecting tracks from the 30 years of Helen Love, this Damaged Goods set, out today, is extraordinarily listenable. The familiar ("Beat Him Up", "Punk Boy", "King of Kung Fu") brush up more obscure gems ("Debbie Loves Joey", "MC5"). Everything here has a simple basic structure, one designed to deliver riffs and pop pleasures as quickly and economically as possible. What The Ramones did with volume, Helen Love do with wit and attitude. "Does Your Heart Go Boom?" is a naff love-song, part Shampoo and part Primitives, while "Bubblegum" is -- you guessed it! -- bubblegum pop with more crunchy chords. At their best, Helen Love made music that felt like nothing else, like the songs of a gang you wanted to join ("Love Kiss Run Sing Shout Jump!"), or something that paid tribute to your own fave acts ("Put Your Foot on the Fuzzbox", a tune whose title manages to reference both Fuzzbox and Kate Bush). And even a couple of decades later I'm still not quite sure if Helen is being funny in "Long Live the UK Music Scene"; I mean, I can't imagine Helen racing home to crank up Shed Seven sides, though I think the whole Britpop boom likely gave this Cardiff crew at least a few more fans (I came in thanks to Kenickie fans pointing me towards HL back in 1997 or so).
Yeah Yeah We're Helen Love is, like Ramones-mania, a one-disc solution to an artist. Like if you could only afford one Helen Love record/CD, this should be the one you start with. Of course, I'd also say that if you wanted a one-disc refresher course in why you first loved this band, this is a good place to start.
Yeah Yeah We're Helen Love is out today via Damaged Goods.