Helen

Fronted by Grouper's Liz Harris, the fuzzed-out shoegaze trio Helen adds appealing pop structure to her free-floating melodies and atmospheres. With bassist Scott Simmons and drummer Jed Binderman completing the lineup, Helen's evocatively noisy style recalled the heyday of Flying Saucer Attack and Eric's Trip on their 2013 single Felt This Way/Dying All the Time and 2015's full-length The Original Faces. Though their sound was slightly more streamlined on 2026's second album Linda's Head, Helen still excelled at New Zealand-style indie pop outbursts as well as transporting epics. Harris, who is best known for her beautiful ambient work as Grouper (and has also collaborated with Tiny Vipers' Jesy Fortino as Mirroring, among other projects), connected with bassist Simmons (Lavender Flu, Eat Skull) and drummer Binderman (Eternal Tapestry, Heavy Winged) in 2013 to record Helen's debut single Felt This Way/Dying All the Time. The single arrived that September via Exile Records and Harris' own YELLOWELECTRIC imprint. The band recorded its debut album The Original Faces over several years, and Kranky released it in September 2015. Harris returned to Grouper for 2018's Grid of Points and 2021's Shade, releasing the 2019 debut album from her project Nivhek, After Its Own Death/Walking in a Spiral Towards the House, along the way. Binderman, Simmons, and Harris reconvened for October 2026's Linda's Head, a continuation of Helen's dreamy, distortion-heavy sound that emphasized its pop underpinnings. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi