January 24, 1999

London Highbury Garage

They name-drop [a]Atari Teenage Riot[/a], [a]Thurston Moore[/a] and [a]NME[/a] journalists, and pen juicily parodic lyrics ...

Not a she, but a they, Helen Love sound like a kitschy Japanese synth combo playing regurgitated Ramones riffs, but are actually an all-girl trio-cum-drum machine form Wales playing regurgitated Ramones riffs. Confused? Amused? You will be.

Helen Love are quirk specialists, doyennes of DIY who entertain themselves by making ersatz punk noises on cheap equipment and who prefer not to be taken seriously. So they come onstage like a little sister in a school talent contest, all spangly tops and dark glasses. They sing, "Yeah yeah, we're Helen Love" over looped hand claps. They are absurd, bizarre, adorable. Still, Helen Love have more to offer than ramshackle sham-Ramones charm. They name-drop Atari Teenage Riot, Thurston Moore and NME journalists, and pen juicily parodic lyrics ("He's on medication and heavy sedation since Kula Shaker came along", they chirp in 'Does Your Heart Go Boom?'), and they've written one of the great lost classics of 1998 ('Long Live The UK Music Scene') which, sadly, they don't play.

Helen Love are where the sublime and ridiculous intersect in cartoonishly tuneful lo-fidelity. If they don't make your heart go boom, frankly, you don't have one.