God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl
User Score
8.4 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10

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  1. cupofbeans
    Oct 15, 2010
    10
    This is a fabulous album containing beautiful pop songs. It's not a 'flawed work' at all but a fully realised work that sounds hauntingly familiar yet new simultaneously. I can't recommend it highly enough and it's rarely been off my CD player since I bought it. I would like to hear much more from Mr Murdoch and his collaborators.
  2. Dahopa
    Apr 24, 2013
    9
    I listen to this album. It never gets old. In fact, in my rather large library it is probably the album played the most in recent times. I am hesitant about the promised film if only because I fear it might not live up to the images I have created in my own head. But I will watch when it comes out.
  3. johnL
    Aug 15, 2009
    9
    Beautiful, it has really grown on me. Not really a bad song and several great tracks.
  4. ChristianT
    Jul 21, 2009
    3
    I am a massive B&S fan, but gave this one listen and put it on the junk pile. There are maybe three listenable tracks and two of them are recycled from B&S' last release. The rest of it is quite bizarre and sometimes downright unsettling. Murdoch clearly needs the rest of the band to keep him from going bonkers.
  5. Sjoerdd
    Jul 21, 2009
    9
    I really love the album. It is simply a Belle and Sebastian album with a different perspective and realization. The songs are very good and depict the story nicely. The singers have been chosen very well, and it just get more appealing with every listen.
  6. OttoD
    Aug 13, 2009
    10
    Really the best album I've bought in years. Beautifully naive music.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. All Music Guide
    60
    God Help the Girl should probably just be viewed as a flawed work or a semi-successful adventure by a solo artist who needs his band to be truly great.
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  2. Boston Globe
    80
    If most B&S records can be considered indie-pop, short-story collections, you might call this a bildungsroman in shorts. And while the pages of this musical story are dog-eared and familiar, as with any favored paperback, that’s just a testament to its continued readability.
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  3. cokemachineglow
    63
    It just simply seems that Stuart Murdoch isn’t a very portable songwriter: he may be able to write Stuart Murdoch songs for Stuart Murdoch, but translated to anything but his music frequently exhibits its participants’ weaknesses, and the end result is unsettling and unfulfilling like few Belle and Sebastian products are.
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