A sequel to his This Mortal Coil project, the Hope Blister was led by 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell, who this time out chose to dispense with a revolving ensemble approach in favor of assembling a core lineup consisting of vocalist Louise Rutkowski, bass virtuoso Laurence O'Keefe, and cellist/arranger Audrey Riley. The Hope Blister debuted in 1998 with the covers collection ...smile's ok. Underarms, a limited-edition collection of outtakes and remixes from ...smile's ok, arrived the following year. In 2005 4AD made Underarms widely available in the double-disc set Underarms & Sideways, which bundled the album with a new collection of remixes by Kompakt artist Markus Guentner. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide