Words and Music by Saint Etienne

although their trademark mix of romantic bubblegumesque pop and old-skool-rave has been copied a million times by now, Saint Etienne are still quite something. and they have a new album, called “Words And Music”. the london-based 3-piece has been in hiatus for some time now, their last album has been “Tales from the Turnpike House” in 2005 (with the exception of “London Conversations: The Best Of Saint Etienne” in 2009), which has been, as far as i remember, reveiced quite well by the press, but widely ignored by the public. of course, this happened unjustified. even though i didn’t give everything they the attention it possibly deserved, having one saint etienne-track in my all-time-favorites-list, i always felt the greatest sympathy for the band. the song i am referring to is “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and especially in the remix by Andrew Weatherall, it shines with eternal beauty:

here’s  a short edit of the remix:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Qdu4UnVRo&w=210&h=157]

and this is the full 9-minute-version:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAPCm76g6fs&w=210&h=157]

however, they are back. which is good. because nothing really has changed – the music still is grounded deep inside 90ies-electronica and Sarah Cracknell’s voice still flows and shines in a weightless romantic drift. it’s all about pop, in a good way. and maybe that’s the most difficult task of them all: try to produce an album full of romantic pop-songs in an environment, firmly planted in the electronic music scene and make something interesting, touching out of it. Saint Etienne managed to do this, which is thoroughly proven in their new single TONIGHT:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEWEAqNR2XQ&w=560&h=315]

forget all the copycats and just enjoy a solid pop-record with no need for the feel of a guilty pleasure. “Word And Music” by Saint Etienne is out now via Heavenly Recordings/Universal Music.

buy the CD from amazon here: Words and Music By Saint Etienne