Having already earned his accolades and praises as one of Scotland’s finest frontmen and indie-pop songwriters, Stuart Murdoch’s latest music endeavour is neither Belle & Sebastian-related nor a Thom Yorke-style solo project. God Help The Girl is a musical narrative; the soundtrack to a musical, of which the script and film are still in the making.

It might seem odd that a soundtrack would precede a film, or even a story, but Murdoch is a musician first and foremost after all. Written and recorded over a five-year period, with much of the music being penned when Belle & Sebastian were touring Dear Catastrophe Waitress, the Scottish indie musician has stepped into different territory, deliberately distancing this music from that of his usual – œday job’.

Not surprisingly, Murdoch’s distinctive mellow pop style still often bubbles to the surface in many of the songs on God Help The Girl. This is in no small part due to his (albeit brief) vocal contributions and the inclusion of two reworked Belle & Sebastian songs on the record. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Rich, full bodied orchestra arrangements, composed by Mick Cooke and conducted by Withnail & I’s arranger Rick Wentworth, and a brassy show-tune style that features elements of soul, retro girl-groups (think Petula Clark or the Ronettes), and minor touches of pop among others, help separate this record from most music Murdoch has created in the past decade.

Nine vocalists, including Murdoch himself, feature on God Help The Girl. On lead vocals is the relatively unknown Catherine Ireton. A recent fixture in Scotland’s rich music scene, Ireton is a superb choice to sing as the “Girl” in the narrative; her crystal clear, sweet voice giving the songs a dramatic, defined edge. She shines on the album’s jaunty title track, and her vocals offset Murdoch’s own wistful tone in the piano-based and harmony-flavoured duet, Hiding Neath My Umbrella.

Alongside some notable names on the record (including the Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon, who lends his instantly recognisable vocals to Perfect as a Hipster, and Smoosh’s Asya on I Want His Jeans), God Help The Girl also features singers chosen from an online competition. Murdoch’s search for vocalists who possessed a quality like “the Ronettes, Twinkle and Friend & Lover” resulted in the inclusion of several relatively unknown vocalists. Among them are two US singers – Dina Bankole and Brittany Stallings, who gives the Belle and Sebastian number Funny Little Frog a contemporary commercial-pop edge.

Despite the impressive roster of talent and the uniqueness of the project, God Help The Girl seems to fall short of its potential in many parts. The show-tune kitsch is fun at first, but midway through the album it loses its stamina, and the orchestration begins to blur into each other. The album also features a couple of unmemorable instrumentals fillers, including the strangely jazzy A Unified Theory.

Perhaps if the accompanying film ever comes to fruition, the music will take on a better significance. But for now, this collection will probably only interest the keen Belle & Sebastian devotees – and perhaps fans of the almost-forgotten art of musical theatre.

God Help The Girl is out now through Rough Trade Records.