War Child – Help(2) Review 

Twenty-five years on from the first War Child charity release, and the message they send is, sadly, relevant. Help(2) assembles what is, objectively, the greatest range of alternative rock music available in modern times. Producer James Ford has called in all his favours for this one, a just cause which the artists featured within not only back but embody with the work they provide. A few covers here or there, but a collection of quality originals from both artists who were around for the first album and maintained their relevancy over the two and a half decades between releases, and the new generation of all-time great songwriters and artists. To have Fontaines D.C., English Teacher, and Cameron Winter paired on an album with Pulp, Damon Albarn, and Depeche Mode is not just a comment on the goodwill of great artists, but the longevity of strong work. That’s what the latter artists show, and the former do their part in adding that necessary, fresh layer. 

Rare it may be that a compilation album offers up a worthy listening experience, but the collected pool of talents heard on Help(2) is nothing short of marvellous. They get the job done, which is effectively to blur quality musicianship with a worthy cause. Arctic Monkeys’ return to the studio despite having no plans to follow up The Car is a real surprise, one of the many moments necessary to the success of Help(2). Listeners are attracted to this release because of the quality they expect from the star-studded list of names. It’s what they receive, too. That quality is assured. Singles used to promote Help(2), namely Albarn, Kae Tempest and Grian Chatten on Flags and the latest Pulp effort, Begging for Change, land on the political motions of the album. But it’s not all politics, though they’re embedded in each of these songs. Some are acts of escapism, like Let’s Do It Again! from The Last Dinner Party. Solid musicianship, creative experiments on each and every song. Albarn enlists the likes of Chatten, Jarvis Cocker, and Johnny Marr in what may be the best song from his solo discography to date, for instance. 

All they can do is pull from what they know, and what the likes of King Krule, Big Thief, and Wet Leg know is how to pool resources for a good cause. Leftovers from the studio is an easy draw for these releases, but the high bar of quality means their discarded tracks are still marvellous. Covers, too, feature across Help(2), but the standout is a miraculous rendition of Sunday Morning from Beth Gibbons. Each artist maintains the stylishness they’ve topped the charts with in the past, and it makes all the difference. It feels like you’ve shuffled a playlist of hits, rather than a cobbled-together charity do. Few compilations can shake the kitschy tag, but Help and its follow-up, Help(2), does. Inspired work from Black Country, New Road on Strangers shows just how broad a skillset Ford has a producer.  Help(2) does not pursue this, but it does feel like a showcase of one of the best working producers today. Fontaines D.C.’s bold cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s Black Boys on Mopeds is nothing short of masterful. A temperature check from a new artist covering another whose read of the world is still relevant.

All that you love and look to find in the work of each of these artists is what survives across Help(2), and it only adds to the unity necessary for such a charitable drive. There is a standard Ford expects, not just because of the War Child drive, but because his experience as a producer demands it. He has worked with the best in the business and collated them here for our listening pleasure. Help(2) is nothing short of miraculous. Parasite is an outstanding piece of work, one which highlights not just the brilliance of English Teacher but the subtlety of Graham Coxon, one of the country’s greatest guitarists. A match made in heaven that comes to life because of this push for change. Honest comments, quality music, and a genuine desire to bring goodness and hope to those who need it. Help(2) is stacked with quality, and though you don’t need that to make the case for charity, it certainly helps the cause.