Saint Etienne
Home Counties
Heavenly
Three stars
They may be named after a French football team, but Saint Etienne really are the most English of bands. And one traditional British trait is a pining for brighter shores. "Let's find another country, nearer the sun," sings Sarah Cracknell, the trio's radiant frontwoman, on What Kind of World. "Let's find another country, a better one."
This fun but thoughtful outfit were more a project than a group when they initially emerged, into the otherwise gloomy indie landscape of the early 1990s. Founded by two music journalists, Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley, their debut album, Foxbase Alpha, was knowingly cool, full of quirky vocal samples, sublime retro hooks and guest singers. Cracknell then joined permanently but they remained more than a mere band, making several documentary films along the way. Real life fuels their work.
Twenty six years on, Saint Etienne have returned to the Foxbase formula, but now appear happily, consciously uncool. Home Counties refers to London's humdrum suburbs, which are stereotypically populated by people either clinging to an antiquated idea of England, or desperate to escape it.
The wistful track Whyteleafe, for example – named after an unremarkable town – is actually about Brexit, the UK's divisive decision to leave the European Union, last summer. Here a disillusioned, daydreaming commuter briefly enjoys "a kind of tranquillity," sings Cracknell, "thinking of Germany".
Musically, the record is as varied as its many characters, and rather like browsing through British radio, particularly as the vocal interludes are actual BBC clips: stuffy announcements, dull quizzes. Well-crafted nostalgia abounds, notably Underneath the Apple Tree, with its rolling '60s soul groove; and Take it all In, which could easily soundtrack a stylish '70s TV drama, probably starring the late Roger Moore.
Actually, Cracknell might well disagree with the 'uncool' tag. She recently reconnected with current pop, electronica and grime – via her children's recommendations, admittedly – and that influence rears up occasionally. Heather, loosely based on a real suburban poltergeist incident, begins in a suitably spooky manner before electronic drums crash in. The youthful romance of Magpie Eyes is bathed in spiky post-punk electropop, but the undoubted standout is Dive, which marries folky vocals to a funky riff reminiscent of the Commodores's awesome Machine Gun, despite being ostensibly about swimming.
Elsewhere, there are hints of chamber music, choral moments, English football scores, even a sampled duck quack. Home Counties may baffle many listeners, but this unique trio continue to capture the eccentric heart of their homeland.
artslife@thenational.ae
