Saint Etienne’s final album “International” is a bittersweet joy

By guest blogger Jakeyfw

What an emotional exercise, reviewing Saint Etienne’s 13^th official – and final – album! When my CD copy of “International” arrived a day early in the post, I hesitated before opening it, knowing I would be listening to a new Saint Etienne album for the very last time

Saint Etienne has been a part of my life since first hearing their debut album “Foxbase Alpha” as a teen in my small Pennsylvania town. In the years before I would eventually move to London, I felt so cool sitting in my childhood bedroom, dreaming up a glamorous version of the city based on all the neighborhoods and locations that have been a fixture of their music from the very beginning.

London won’t be the same without them. As Sarah whispers at the end of “Sweet Melodies”, the breezy, Mediterranean sunset-inspired, poolside dance track that is one of the highlights of “International”: “…where will I go? / London holds my soul…”.

Saint Etienne in the UK vs. the US

Saint Etienne were formed by best friends Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs in suburban London in 1990. Sarah Cracknell became part of the group after the three of them hit it off when she was asked to sing on the third single “Nothing Can Stop Us”. (For a rich and fascinating take on the band and their music, check out the excellent book “How We Used to Live” by Ramzy Alwakeel).

The band’s first album, 1991’s “Foxbase Alpha”, made a splash on both sides of the Atlantic. Both timeless and of its time, this indie dance masterpiece fused house beats, unironic classic pop references, snippets of obscure British films, some druggy dub, a prominent Dusty Springfield sample (on single “Nothing Can Stop Us”) and a house version of a Neil Young song with a shifted time signature (“Only Love Can Break Your Heart”).

In the UK, the album was nominated for a Mercury Prize and launched them into borderline-mainstream success, which lasted for a few years, including top-ten placings for their second and third albums 1993’s “So Tough” and  1994’s “Tiger Bay”. Following the release of their biggest hit, 1995’s “He’s on the Phone”, the band notoriously spent a few self-described “wilderness years” pursuing other ventures and solo projects (including Sarah Cracknell’s excellent, lost-classic album “Lipslide”– more on this later). Their tenuous mainstream momentum may have been lost, but since then have maintained a devoted and fervent (predominantly gay) fan base who for three decades have continued to ensure the band’s albums still chart and their dozens of limited-edition fan club releases sell out.

In the US, the band were signed with Warner Brothers for their first three albums. “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” received heavy rotation on MTV, hit number one on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and even managed to hit 97 on the  Billboard Hot 100 (their first and only song to enter that chart). Follow-up “Nothing Can Stop Us” also hit number one on the dance chart. However, their flirtation with US commercial success was confined to the “Foxbase Alpha” era, despite some creative attempts by Warner Brothers to break them (such as including  the “Tiger Bay” single “Like a Motorway” on the soundtrack for the movie “Speed”).

The band have maintained a similar, if smaller, fan base in the States, but with more hipster, Pitchfork, “if you know, you know” cachet. In America, you would most likely hear their songs  played in boutique hotel lobbies, Stephen Starr restaurants in Philadelphia and GAP and Banana Republic playlists, where they have been a mainstay (all complementary).

International

The early reviews began trickling out a few weeks ago, declaring “International” a masterpiece, a fitting swan song, a band going out on a high. Unsurprisingly, those reviews are largely correct. “International”, mostly produced by ex-Xenomania pop powerhouse Tim Powell, is a succinct showcase of what makes Saint Etienne Saint Etienne. There is a sprinkling of the Saint Etienne magic across all 12 songs – calling back styles and references that they’ve explored over their prolific three-decade plus existence – all wrapped up in hook-laden, richly produced songs. The tracks are instant, and more than half of them could be singles. If you were to try to sum up the band’s oeuvre in one album, “International” wouldn’t be a bad place to start.

Curiously, however, while it ticks a lot of the familiar Saint Etienne boxes, in very satisfying ways, “International” deviates from the album blueprint they have generally followed since “Tiger Bay”. That album, along with each subsequent one, was based around an express theme or concept. For example, the stylistic concept of “Tiger Bay” was the fusion of dance beats and traditional folk melodies. The songs from 2005’s “Tales from Turnpike House” were based on the lives of the imaginary residents of an existing London tower block. The theme of “Words and Music” from 2012 is “how music affects your life.”

Furthermore, starting with 1998’s “Good Humor”, the majority of songs on each of their pop albums were credited to the trio of Cracknell/Stanley/Wiggs.  For example, “Words and Music” had 13 Cracknell/Stanley/Wiggs co-writes. 2017’s “Home Counties” had 17. “International” has only one (“Sweet Melodies”) and has no thematic through line.

These subtle yet fundamental differences don’t detract from the music or the album in any way, but they may be noticed by long-term fans, and they ultimately make the album feel less like an “official” album and more like a compilation of excellent Saint Etienne songs.

Before diving into the “International” singles and exploring some of their references and nods to Saint Etienne’s rich discography, I want to highlight the absolute standout on this album, “Fade”, a Sarah co-write. “Fade” is the emotional centerpiece of the album. A heartbreaking description of a fading relationship, set to a richly layered and subtle drum and bass and strings production, this may be one of the most stunning songs Saint Etienne has ever put their name to. Fans who had complained that Sarah wasn’t present enough on the previous two albums will be thrilled with this song. Indeed, she is all over “International”; this is the third Saint Etienne album which features Sarah’s vocals on every track and has no instrumentals. (In many ways, “Fade” would fit nicely along the tracks of Sarah’s 1997 majestic pop solo album “Lipslide”. That near-perfect gem is not available on streaming services; it is worth tracking down a physical copy.  “Ready or Not”, “Home” (this song, along with “Anymore” from this album gets semi-regular airplay on the 24/7 global online radio broadcast tied to this blog) and “Desert Baby” are the standout tracks from that album.

The opening track of “International” and first single, “Glad”, written with Tom Rowland of the Chemical Brothers, calls back to the encouraging, can-do spirit of 1992 hit “You’re in a Bad Way”. However, the bouncy optimism of “You’re in a Bad Way” is tempered by the warm yet slightly world-weary ambiguity and melancholy of the “Glad” lyrics. (“It’s a lottery/But there’s only a handful of winners/ Every time”). Despite the hint of melancholy,  the rich production is like a comforting hug. A perfect comeback single – classic Saint Etienne at its best.

While “Glad” showcases Saint Etienne’s pop sensibilities, second single “Take Me to the Pilot” taps into Saint Etienne’s dancefloor DNA. Over the “best bassline they’ve ever released”, according to Bob Stanley, and produced with Phil Hartnoll from Orbital, “Take Me to the Pilot” repeats the same cryptic lyrics. ( “Take me to the pilot/I feel I need to fly now/Another reason why now/And you won’t recognize me”). The structure  conjures up some other simple and elegant Saint Etienne dance classics also built  around a repeated refrain, most notably 1994’s half-single “Angel”  (from dance remix compilation “Casino Classics”) and 2002 Spain-only single and fan favorite  “Shower Scene” (which was voted number one on the PopJustice forum’s Saint Etienne singles rating.  The song also taps into Saint Etienne’s long-standing fascination with the glamour and mystery of pilots and flying – “52 Pilot”, “Flight to Tashkent”, “Northwestern”, and “Mr. Donut” to name a few.  (“Mr. Donut” – from 1998’s America-via-Sweden themed “Good Humor” – contains the classic Saint Etienne lyric “Sorry Mr. Pilot but you’ll have to wait/’cause Paul’s still in the duty free”).

Third single “Brand New Me”, a collaboration with Confidence Man, is a bubblegum, fan service update of “Nothing Can Stop Us” with a touch of the glorious “Spring”.  The interplay between Sarah’s familiar and beloved, breathy spoken-word vocals on the verses and the killer-hook chorus with Janet Planet (“It could have been a waste of time/You know I always change my mind/Baby, it’s a brand new me/Tellin’ everyone I know”) are Saint Etienne by the numbers. This should feel derivative but somehow instead sounds fresh and lovely.

The B-side to “Brand New Me” is a slightly remixed version of “7 Ways to Love”, from a Foxbase-era side-project released at the under the moniker Cola Boy and with a different vocalist, Sarah’s friend Janey Lee Grace. (She describes the whole Cola Boy era in her entertaining memoir.)  This straightforward 90s house track is simple, pure, ecstatic joy, and it is such a satisfying full-circle moment to finally have an official Saint Etienne single release of the song featuring Sarah’s vocals.

In addition to “Take Me Pilot” and “7 Ways to Love”, we get a tour through a variety of dance music genres over the course of “International”.  In addition to the ethereal, Balearic beats of “Sweet Melodies, “Save it for a Rainy Day” dips into Italo house and “He’s Gone” (which also sounds like it could be a lost “Lipslide” track) gives us some piano house pop.

Standout “Dancing Heart” is a straight up dance pop song that could easily sit alongside the catalogues of Annie and the Minogue sisters.  Amazingly, this might be the first Saint Etienne song which is ostensibly about dancing; it serves as a companion piece to the euphoric “Tonight”, from “Words and Music”,  which describes the ineffable excitement of getting ready to go to a gig. However, just below its shiny surface, “Dancing Heart” contains some of the most poignant lyrics on the album:

“This life has had its high points/ And sure there’s been some lows/ But moments like these/ You share them with people/ People like you and me/ Moments like these/ They don’t last forever/ Turn them to memories”.

The tour de force production on “Why Are You Calling?” sounds like the soundtrack to a 60s spy film condensed into three minutes. It complements the intrigue of “Two Lovers”, a weird and wonderfully catchy 80s-adjacent banger co-written by Pete and Erasure’s Vince Clarke. “They were two lovers/Forced into secrecy/They were two lovers/Whose future was fantasy”.

In the press leading up to the album, Sarah talked about how she cried while singing the lyrics to final track “The Last Time”. I braced myself emotionally as the song started, with its big 80s synth soundtrack sound – this song wouldn’t be out of place in a high school dance scene in a John Hughes film. “The Last Time”  is the closest song, storytelling-wise, to their previous spoken-word epics like “Over the Border”, “Teenage Winter” and “Sweet Arcadia”. While “Over the Border” can still make me emotional after all these years, I find the lyrics to the second verse of “The Last Time” – perhaps controversially – so clunky and jarring that they took me right out of the emotion of the song. I won’t spoil them here, but it doesn’t work for me; one of only two missteps on the album.

The other misstep for me is “The Go Betweens”.  While this playful duet between Sarah and Nick Heyward (from Haircut 100) is beautifully produced (albeit with some awkward prog undertones) and the two sound lovely together, this feels like a Sarah guest feature on someone else’s album, and the placement of the track after “Dancing Heart” is bizarre. It is borderline novelty to me.

Apart from these two minor complaints, “International” is a fantastic album with huge replay value. There is something here for Saint Etienne fans of all types – my friend Jane, a fellow life-long aficionado, even loves “The Go Betweens”. This album is also a great, strong entry point for someone who is curious about the band.  After 35 years of providing the soundtrack to my – and so many others’ – lives, I am gutted that they’re calling it a day, but so grateful for everything they’ve given us.

“Don’t it make you glad? /
Don’t it make you sad?”

Yes.

Here (below) is the albums’ lead single “Glad”.

STAR RATING: 4 out of 5 stars