Helen Returns With a More Direct Shoegaze Record
Helen, the shoegaze trio featuring Grouper’s Liz Harris, Scott Simmons, and Jed Bindeman, has released its second album, Linda’s Head, more than a decade after The Original Faces. The record keeps the group’s hazy atmosphere while giving Harris’ vocals a more concise, percussive role. Its lyrics and imagery often turn toward stars, storms, and horizons.
Helen is the Pacific Northwest trio of Liz Harris, Scott Simmons, and Jed Bindeman. Linda’s Head, their second full-length, arrives on Kranky in 2026, over ten years after The Original Faces. Where that debut foregrounded bass and drums, the new record places Harris’s voice in sharper, more rhythmic phrases while preserving the band’s foggy expanse.
Across a brisk sequence, the songs look upward: stars, storms, and horizons recur. Tracks such as “Starline,” “endless Sky,” “darkblue,” “Dead shark II,” “black and quiet love,” “Stay with me,” and the long closer “Canyon” mix melancholy with moments of delight.
Linda’s Head may resonate with longtime Grouper and shoegaze listeners, offering a familiar atmospheric palette while giving Harris’s words a clearer, more memorable shape. Its sky-and-storm imagery could invite listeners to sit with melancholy and delight together, and the album may strengthen interest in Kranky’s roster and the trio’s work. For casual fans, the concise vocal hooks might make this an easier entry point than the band’s denser debut.