Review: War Child Records – HELP(2)

Various Artists
HELP(2)
War Child Records
Street: 03.06.2026
War Child Records = indie excellence + the humanitarian spirit

War Child Records – HELP(2) Album Breakdown

On Sept. 4, 1995, some of Britain’s most celebrated musicians and bands spent the day recording individual tracks at studios across Europe for a collection of songs which would become the HELP charity album from War Child Records. Heralding a lineup consisting of Paul McCartney, Oasis and Radiohead, among other British greats, it was released just the next week. All proceeds went to supporting War Child UK, a nonprofit founded over their concern for the Bosnian War and its displacement of conflict-affected children.

In the 30 years since War Child UK began raising money and awareness for children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they have expanded operations into a dozen other war-torn countries, including Gaza, Ukraine and Yemen.

HELP(2) Brings Modern Indie Stars Together

On the Friday of the same week that began with the U.S. and Israel launching their war in Iran, HELP(2) was released. Recorded over just one week in November 2025 at Abbey Road Studios, it features some of the most exciting and singular names in indie music today. Most are British artists, with veterans like Damon Albarn and Depeche Mode appearing alongside newer acts like Black Country, New Road and English Teacher, but there are also appearances from Cameron Winter, Beck, Big Thief and Olivia Rodrigo. It was likely a monumental task for James Ford, the album’s executive producer, even with his recruiting of more than a few artists he’d already worked with on previous projects.  

War Child Records – HELP(2) Showcases Musical Range and Emotional Depth

HELP(2) showcases indie’s range through a mixture of original songs and truly ingenious covers. While there isn’t necessarily an overt theme that dominates, it has a consistent tone of resistance mixed with grief – a musical duality of heartbreak and resilience.

“Opening Night” by Arctic Monkeys is the first track and the album’s main single. I heard it on KRCL 90.9FM in February, which led me to discover HELP(2). It’s their first new music in four years, and for that reason alone, it’s garnering attention. With a suspenseful, tension-building spin on the lounge lizard rock that dominated their last two studio albums, it’s a song that serves to promptly assure you of the album’s forthcoming quality.

The second track “Flags” has Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz, complemented by a chorus sung by Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten and a spoken-word verse from British poet and recording artist Kae Tempest. As Albarn’s comforting and familiar voice guides the song, he’s backed by a heavenly choral section and a glittering combination of drums and piano. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the album, but then again, so is the next one.

Black Country, New Road and The Last Dinner Party

Track three is Black Country, New Road’s original, “Strangers,” a folksy anthem. It’s perhaps not as “deep” lyrically as some of the other tracks, but gives us the group at their finest, completely in the pocket – fiddles, harmonies and all. It might be the easiest to get hooked on, which tells you something about charity albums. They are intended to bring together popular musicians to convey feeling and empathy. Whether every song is an overt ballad of peace, rebellion or neither, these songs will be heard on the radio and at home, and they will be felt, aiding in War Child’s cause.

Another example is “Let’s Do It Again!” by The Last Dinner Party. The band brings their more electrified but still somehow baroque style of indie to the forefront, with a chorus that invokes the Radio City Rockettes in full carnival garb and even features a tasty key change in the final instrumental jam. It stands out because it breaks The Last Dinner Party’s softer mold while maintaining consistency with their already well-established themes. It doesn’t necessarily contribute to the overall theme of the album, outside of being part of a memorable and easily re-playable section of it, but it doesn’t have to.

Covers and Tribute Songs on HELP(2)

Beth Gibbons of Portishead, who appeared on the first HELP, recorded a version of “Sunday Morning,” the Lou Reed/John Cale classic from the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Gibbons must have noticed that, despite being a linchpin of alternative rock, the song doesn’t have many recognizable covers to its name. Her version isn’t groundbreaking, but she sings it with obvious reverence for its predecessor and an aura of emotional understanding for the issues at hand.

War Child knew they’d have to impress and rouse leagues of sardonic indie heads and well-schooled music fans to make a successful compilation album. HELP(2) has its covers of indie callbacks like “Sunday Morning” and beabadoobee’s ode to Elliott Smith with her version of “Say Yes.” A few artists, though, chose to cover protest songs. Depeche Mode did a hardcore, synth-heavy rendition of “Universal Soldier,” an anti-war folk song written in the 60s by American poet Buffy Sainte-Marie.

It’s been covered a few times, including by First Aid Kit, who changed some of the lyrics to reflect the conflicts happening around then in 2011, mentioning both Palestine and Iraq. Chatten is also joined by the rest of Fontaines D.C. for a cover of “Black Boys on Mopeds,” a heavily strummed salute to Sinéad O’Connor’s original protest song aimed at Margaret Thatcher.

Genre Diversity and Emotional Range

Throughout its sloughing emotional waves and serene valleys of rippling white foam, HELP(2) dives into several ends of the indie spectrum. “Helicopters” is a subtle reggae track from the Ezra Collective, a jazz group who Ford pairs with R&B artist Greentea Peng. Arlo Parks also dips into her brand of bedroom-R&B on “Nothing I Could Hide.” Big Thief’s “Relive, Redie” is a haunted campfire song with the enchanted vocals characteristic of Adrianne Lenker and the mixture of acoustic and hand-drummed instrumentalism that fits the group better than anything else they do. In it, the album reaches a somber note before the generalized anxiety induced by the jagged staccato strings and Leonard Cohen-like spoken lyrics of Cameron Winter’s “Warning.”

Sampha’s brief contribution “Naboo” is a silky respite also worth mentioning, while King Krule just loops his electric guitar with spacey noises in “The 343 Loop,” a liminal interlude that reminds me of Aphex Twin. Wet Leg’s contribution, “Obvious,” is a gorgeous acoustic song they wrote around 2021, even playing it live occasionally, but never recording it in a studio setting until now.

War Child Records Continues to Make an Impact

Olivia Rodrigo lends mature and tender vocals to a stirring cover of “The Book of Love” by The Magnetic Fields to close off the album. In the official music video, Rodrigo’s voice backdrops footage taken with handheld cameras by children in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen, opening a brief window into their worlds. The footage does include images of the wrecked buildings and city blocks that lay in rubble, and the children dash under broken archways along crumbled alleyways. But there are also images of local playgrounds, hand-holding and side-of-the-road dirt-patch soccer matches.

All proceeds from HELP(2) go toward War Child UK to support the physical and psychological well-being of children in the countries they serve. Physical copies are available on vinyl and CD at warchild.org.uk, and the album is available to stream anywhere you get your music. —Kyle Forbush

Read more album reviews by Kyle Forbush: 
Review: Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds — Mutiny After Midnight
Local Review: CLUB MUNGO — Grasshopper