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Thread: St Etienne

  1. #1
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    St Etienne

    This is yet another of those names that I have seen and heard many times over the years without, to my knowledge, ever hearing a note of their music - until tonight, when they were played on the radio programme "Golden Apples of the Sun". There is usually at least one track played on each episode of this programme that perks my interest enough to want to know more, and in this case it was St Etienne - "Like a Swallow".

    Looking at the entry in Wikipedia, it seems they are one of those acts whose sound changed significantly over the years - which could be a good thing, but makes it hard to know how to approach them. Still, any band that admires the Beach Boys enough to name not one but two albums after Beach Boys albums or songs automatically has my attention.

    Thoughts?

  2. #2
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    I don't know what they have changed their sound from or to, but I bought one of their cd's in the 90s. Airy jazzy pop with an electronica edge to it. Very pleasant but not memorable. I can't even think of the title of the cd. Maybe something with airplanes?

  3. #3
    Try to find their album with the 'Spirit Of Radio' sample as a track lead-in. I can't remember the name of the album, but it was an auto-buy (and not just for me) when it was played in a music shop many years ago. The guy behind the counter wasn't expecting it to be played, because he'd just put on a new-release album, but at least half-a-dozen heads immediately looked up, and we all moved towards the counter and bought the album. OK, the rest of the album may have been 'merely' a really good pop album, but that one track with the Rush sample is wonderful.

  4. #4
    A band that never did much for me than a pleasant listening. Their debut Foxbase Alpha with its "indie-dance" sound was a huge indie hit that reminded the 2nd summer of love days. An interesting effort combining acid house and 60s romantic pop. On their 2nd release they swifted towards uninteresting brit pop, till their 3rd album Tiger Bay which is their best to my ears, a hybrid of folk and electronica. By the end of the 90s they shifted toward a more atmospheric style, while retaining their pop edge.

    The song with the Rush sample is "Conchita Martinez" from their 2nd album So Tough.
    Macht das ohr auf!

    COSMIC EYE RECORDS

  5. #5
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    They seem to have had more compilation albums, special only-in-Japan albums, and soundtracks or collaborations than they had actual proper studio albums.

    I had a listen on Spotify to their first album, and although i did not listen to each track in its entirety my impression is that they do the occasional track that is amazingly good, and a lot of other songs that are rather ordinary.

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