Saint Etienne have announced announced a new album, and they’re saying it’s their final one. International, the British indie-pop trio’s follow-up to The Night, is out September 5 via Heavenly. The new album is led by the single “Glad,” which was co-written and co-produced with the Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands and features Doves’ Jez Williams on guitar. Watch the accompanying video, directed by Scrub, below.
“We asked Tom if he had any songs in progress that might suit Saint Etienne, and he sent a backing track that he’d been working on with Jez from Doves,” Saint Etienne vocalist Sarah Cracknell said in a statement. “We fell in love with it straight away, and the top line melody and words for ‘Glad’ came easy.”
Pete Wiggs added, “The song is about taking pleasure in everyday things like nature and the outdoors when life is otherwise getting you down.”
Along with Tom Rowlands and Jez Williams, International has contributions from Confidence Man, Erol Alkan, Vince Clarke, Nick Heyward, Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll, and Xenomania’s Tim Powell.
Formed in London in 1990, by childhood friends Wiggs and Bob Stanley, Saint Etienne put out two singles that same year—“Kiss and Make Up” and their cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”—before they added Cracknell for “Nothing Can Stop Us.” All three songs appeared on the band’s 1991 debut, Foxbase Alpha, which kicked off a decade-defining run of albums, most notable among them 1993’s sophomore effort So Tough, 1994’s Tiger Bay, and 1998’s Good Humor.
Wiggs, Stanley, and Cracknell became beloved for their blend of twee indie-pop and contemporary club sound, which balanced an alluringly cosmopolitan sheen with charm, wit, and approachability. After 2005’s Tales From Turnpike House, Saint Etienne took an extended break from recording. Since their return, in 2012, with Words and Music by Saint Etienne, however, the band has consistently put out new records, among them Home Counties (2017) and I’ve Been Trying to Tell You (2021).
According to a press release, “The group aren’t splitting up as such—they still remain the best of friends after 35 years recording together—but they don’t feel like they want to go on forever and wanted to go out with a bang.”
Read about Saint Etienne’s Foxbase Alpha in “The 25 Best Indie-Pop Albums of the 1990s.”
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International:
01 Glad
02 Dancing Heart
03 The Go Betweens [ft. Nick Heyward]
04 Sweet Melodies
05 Save It for a Rainy Day
06 Fade
07 Brand New Me [ft. Confidence Man]
08 Take Me to the Pilot
09 Two Lovers
10 Why Are You Calling
11 He’s Gone
12 The Last Time
