‘HELP(2)’ Strikes Balance Between Activism and All-Star Jam
Since 1995, with the release of The Help Album, War Child Records has been releasing stacked all-star-jam style records to “protect, educate and stand up for” children who are living in places with conflict and war.
The most recent release from the music section of the nonprofit War Child, HELP(2), is a nod to the first album with major and up-and-coming artists under the rock/pop umbrella — from Arctic Monkeys and Olivia Rodrigo to Arooj Aftab and English Teacher — collaborating to create a time capsule of the 2020s and what the musicscape has to offer.
“HELP(2) represents hope for children whose lives have been torn apart by war,” the War Child Records website reads. “It is a testament to the generosity of artists and the music industry for making a positive difference towards securing a safer, brighter future for those children. Because no child should be part of war. Ever.”
“Sunday Morning” by Beth Gibbons embraces its title by feeling like a sunny first day of the week. Despite Gibbons’ close, intimate vocals, the song sounds like what seeing Southwest Texas for the first time feels like: expansive, majestic, otherworldly. The Velvet Underground cover features long, slightly twangy backing guitar chords – highlighted in the bridge – that add to the sunny southwestern feel.
Another cover, “Lilac Wine,” sung by Arooj Aftab and Beck, is cozy and nostalgic. Aftab takes Nina Simone’s song, also famously covered by Jeff Buckley, and drapes it in tender velvet. Opening with just piano that carries throughout the song, it sets the listener in a smoky jazz bar. Once the pitter-pattering drums enter during the first refrain, Aftab and Beck’s vocals intertwine throughout the rest of the track, creating a dual perspective of a somber experience.
“Nothing I Could Hide” by Arlo Parks starts with more upbeat drums and floaty vocals, creating a landscape for an indie pop/R&B tune to break up the mostly alt-rock sound. The combination of high hat drums, indie sounding guitar and Parks’ twinkly voice is almost sultry. Juxtaposing the sonic change, Parks tells her partner, “There’s a part of me you can’t touch / and it’s breakin’ both of our hearts.”
Within the final few tracks is Foals’ “When the War is Finally Done,” which brings synth and topical themes to the sound of HELP(2). The group echoes sentiments seen in songs like Green Day’s “Wake Me up When September Ends” – asking to be woken up only when the war is over. More synths are layered as the track progresses, building a tension that barely gets released in the last minute of the song.
With the covers and original songs, HELP(2) deliberately combines humanitarian causes and expert craftmanship. Each of the 23 songs on this LP deserve their flowers, and there’s something almost fulfilling about listening to the album front-to-back – and it’s not because you made it through an hour-and-a-half record. Although the artists are different, their tonal similarities create a cohesion that makes this a successful collaboration album.
