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Helene: This Is All We Have To Know (Series 8 S 002)



Last from me is a really nice 7" by Helene. It's mellow with a 'Street Spirit' style guitar & a really sweet, soulful vocal & is produced by Simon Raymonde of Cocteau Twins. If you liked 'Marbles' by Tindersticks (if you didn't you are officially deaf) then this may trigger off some similar vibes & sensations amongst the hairs on the nape of your neck. A smashing summer tune ' This is all we have to know' is Limited 7" only!

(Slapping The Thighs Of Melody, 16th June 2006)




Editor: Worth a mention is the simply lovely Helene - This Is All We Have To Know, a cinematic torchsong that harks back to Julee Cruise, with its ethereal vocals and tender musicianship. Please check.

Reviewer: Exquisite track from hotly tipped London chanteuse Helene. On first listen, it sounds like a lot of the swoony cinematic folk around but this is several leagues above with charming arrangement and a voice to fall in love to.

(Pure Groove, 12th June 2006)




Already responsible for causing a swooning fit in our gaff for those superb recent releases by Oom and the Beangrowers the Series 8 bandwagon trundles on with another slice of must have tuneage with what is a quite simply and utterly gorgeous taster for Helene’s second long player ‘Routines’ due for release in July. Helene are a five piece based around the talents of former Barefoot Contessa members Helene Dineen and Graham Gargiulo (of whose ‘Blues for a Honey’ full length is befitting of the tag - lost gem). Already proud parents of a well received debut album in ’Postcard’ (which we - grates teeth - sadly missed) released in 2003 Helene return to the fray with a two track teaser of such pristine pop perfection it’ll have you swooning in admiration. Softly seductive ‘This is all we have to know’ recalls in the main Manchester’s much overdue for critical acclaim Anna Kashfi (of whom we’ve just discovered have released an album last year ’Palisade’ which we knew nothing about - still - two great reasons to go record shopping in the same review) in the sense that both display a unique talent for timeless song crafting. Gentle, unassuming, fragile but nonetheless potently absorbing ’This is all we have to know’ glides spectrally, liberally dashed with an almost pastel like shading that’s all at once elegiac and haunting. Like a light bulb to a moth the nimble pastoral chord play of Gargiulo sweetly beckons Dineen’s breathlessly sensual Hope Sandoval-esque vocal to caress and curl amid the rounded folds that manifests itself into a transfixing chemistry that’s richly beguiling - a half cousin of sorts to Cave’s doomed love epitaph ‘Where the wild roses grow’ touched with a Leonard Cohen like accent though eliciting an endearing 60’s folk appeal. The captivating ‘Nostalgie’ over on the flip side is exclusive to this release. Built around a lull like swaying shanty like dynamic and a reclining demeanour, it’d take a heart of steel to sniff nonchalantly at this warming nugget of day dreaming Strawberry Switchblade like easy pop. Pressed on blue vinyl as though you needed any further encouragement to make your own.

(LosingToday.com, The Indie Music Magazine, 10th May 2006)




Sept 5th, 6th. Maybe this is what it's all for...



This Is All We Have To Know is available from Series 8 Records and all good record stores.