The Hope Blister were an ambient band, composed of singer Louise Rutkowski, former Levitation and then current Dark Star bass player Laurence O'Keefe and string arranger Audrey Riley.

The band was founded by 4AD Records owner Ivo Watts-Russell and was something of a continuation of the This Mortal Coil project, but with a fixed line-up and focused on cover versions. The band released two albums ...smile's OK in 1998 and Underarms (featuring bocals by Momus' Nick Currie) in 1999, with the band splitting that year following Watts-Russell's retirement from the music industry. An expanded version of Underarms was released in 2005 as Underarms And Sideways, featuring a bonus disc of remixes.