Our Secret Music

Why Saint Etienne is the best “best band you’ve never heard of” of all-time.

The home page of English band Saint Etienne’s old website featured a different fan quote each time the page was loaded. Many of the quotes talked about Saint Etienne’s “sweet melodies”, their “lush musical movements over a field of melancholy dew drop daisies” and even “a peaceful cloud of love feelings”. Some spoke of “Sarah’s breezy voice, an open coupe, twilight’s sunny beach” or “summer days, nice people, blue skies turning to cool tingling skin and the moon over the sea”. One compared the band to a “Tiffany’s breakfast”. Another called the band “the definition of loveliness” and still another “comforting – like a big pillow, woolly socks or a stiff drink”. A fan named Roland in New York said that “their songs remind you of every tender memory you had, from childhood to adulthood”. James in London said that Saint Etienne’s sound is “that film moment (usually in slo-mo) when the girl turns her head and opens her eyes”.

What is it about this band that makes people write such gushy metaphors? How is it that a band can make otherwise intelligent adults write like angst-ridden teenage poets??

The Saint Etienne story begins in Croydon, Surrey with two childhood friends: Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. The two met when Bob was two and Pete was just a year old. Like so many of us, the two best friends spent their teen years making a lot of party-mix tapes together, reading NME and Melody Maker and dreaming of what life would be like as pop stars. They ate, drank and lived music and collaborated on a short-lived fanzine called Caff. Bob even released a few singles from local indie bands on his very own record label.

However, jobs in the music industry were scarce, and forced the two to “split up” after high school.  They worked various jobs around the periphery of the music scene. Bob became a music journalist for a while. It was then that two things came together that pushed him into starting his own band:

The first was new computer technology which gave anyone with musical ideas but not a lot of “traditional” music talent the ability to create music.

Secondly, the acid house movement made it painfully obvious to Bob that the time to use that technology was now:

“It did seem like if we’re going to do anything, this would be the right time to do it. There’d been The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays on the one hand, and S-Express and Bomb The Bass on the other. It seemed like you could mix the two together and if we didn’t do it, someone else would, so let’s just get on with it. And it was ridiculously easy.”

So get on with they did. The pair moved to Camden, where Saint Etienne would be born.

Named after the French soccer team from the town of the same name, Saint Etienne would, in fact, be born in just one evening. Their very first single was a cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”. It was recorded one night in 1990 with Bob, Pete and a singer they’d never met before, Moira Lambert, a friend of Pete’s brother.

As one Internet source noted, Saint Etienne’s version “junked the folk-waltz original in favour of an easy-skanking bassline, Balearic breakbeats and a saucer-eyed vocal. What was once a whiny-voiced attempt to cheer Graham Nash up was now a blissful dub bubblebath that sounded as perfect booming from the big speakers at 2am as it did wafting through a smoke-filled room.” The single was a hit, even ending up on the soundtrack to the popular UK TV drama Cold Feet.

Another cover single would follow, “Kiss And Make Up”, but it would be their third single, “Nothing Can Stop Us” that would define the band for the rest of the rest of their careers (so far).

For starters, it was their first original single. Secondly, it was the first Saint Etienne song to feature their now-permanent lead singer, Sarah Cracknell. Originally from Windsor, Cracknell would play guitar on the streets of New Orleans, act in a lot of plays in New York and London and release both solo and collaborative singles before finally finding a home in Saint Etienne. And what a home it is!

You see, Sarah’s voice would end up being the icing on the cake. Stanley and Wiggs have always had a knack for being just ahead of the curve with their sound and have always created pop tunes that are perfect examples of their craft. Whether you like their music or not, you’d have to admit that they – like Depeche Mode – write good pop songs. Saint Etienne’s songs always have a nice hook, snappy lyrics and good production. And while their songs all have a common thread, they never sound quite the same. Their albums have progressed like a game of chess, one move at a time. Never really the same, yet never completely different either.

Their first album, Foxbase Alpha, was a collection of their earlier singles. It has a slightly disjointed feel, with the most popular song on the album sung by someone who wasn’t even in the band anymore. But it was good overall: joyously happy 60’s inspired BritPop, by a band that had just moved to London after hitting it big… just like you would have had the band that you and your high school friends dreamed up been more than just a dream. The band hit the road, playing gigs all over the UK.

TRIVIA ALERT: Their opening act for the tour?? Oasis!

Their second disc, So Tough, was released in 1992. It’s a far better album in my opinion, even if it is a bit mellower and darker than Alpha. The band had lost the initial euphoria from becoming popular and moving to “the big city”: “We’d discovered London was crap,” according to Pete. But the band couldn’t stray too far from its happy roots, even when they’re a bit sad. The most popular single from the album, the top-20 hit “You’re In A Bad Way”, is infectiously happy:

At the same time, Bob and Pete also had their fingers in a lot of other pies. They began two record labels: Icerink and EMIdisc. They were happy to remix tracks for “anyone that asked us”. Both also spun at Heavenly Social, the club in the basement of a London pub that gave birth to the Chemical Brothers and big beat. Saint Etienne even released a single – “Tell Me Why (The Riddle)” – with superstar DJ Paul Van Dyk:

As a result of Bob and Pete’s outside work, other DJs have always been keen to remix Saint Etienne’s songs. In addition to the many remix singles in the racks and on the Internet, an official 2-CD remix album called Casino Classics has been released. Far from being hack “commercial grade” remixes ala Britney Spears, the remixes are labors of love. Saint Etienne’s songs get bent, warped, stretched and transformed into something new. If shiny, happy BritPop isn’t for you, any number of their remix tracks could stand proud in any nightclub in the world. One remix in particular, “Filthy (The Monkey Mafia Mix)”, even comes dangerously close to the world of Beastie Boys-style hip-hop:

But even though the hip-hop remixes are great, it’s not what we’re here for. After all, if we wanted hip-hop, we’d just listen to that. No, what we’re after is the essence of the band. That thing or things that make Saint Etienne such a perfect band. How it is that they “evoke a dangerously attractive parallel universe, where sixties chic and songwriting are fused with cutting edge dance savvy”. The reason that people sway and swoon while listening to them. The reason that their fans – myself included – write such glowing things about them. Why this band more than any other gets compared to a “comfy sweater” or the slow-motion bits of a movie when the girl spins around.

To that end, I’ve isolated several reasons as to why Saint Etienne is the best “best band you’ve never heard of”. In no particular order, these are:

They’re quintessentially English, as much a part of Old Blighty as meat pies, a cuppa, cricket, “chip-chip cheerio” and the Queen. Their lyrics are awash in geographical and cultural references to their home country – I must admit, I had to do an Internet search to find out that “Bruce Forsyth” was the host of The Generation Game, a popular game show in the UK (think of England’s Gene Rayburn). But even without that, Sarah’s diction is obviously British English. As if you couldn’t tell from song names like “You’re in a Bad Way” and “Like a Motorway”. And it’s very charming. You almost want to invite them in for tea. Take a tune called “Heart Failed” from their album Sound of Water:

They’re very intimate. There’s just something about their sound that draws you in. It really is like a secret little club that only the “cool people” know about. You almost feel like you know these people. Saint Etienne are your friends. And there’s always a party going on. Not a huge gathering, just a nice classy North London “cool people’s” party.

They’re so happy! Call me simple, but I just love things that are pretty. Pretty women. Pretty days. Pretty things. Although I guess I personally don’t reflect it, I’ve always been all about beauty. So it’s kind of antithetical to me to listen to music by “Captain Bringdown and The Buzzkills”. Life is harsh enough as it is without having to listen to James Taylor, Marilyn Manson, Rage Against The Machine, Eminem or hip-hop in general. Saint Etienne always brings me up. It’s infectious – even on the worst Monday morning they’ll never fail to cheer me up. And they’re awesome for listening to in traffic. I mean, how angry can you get listening to this:

Sarah’s voice, Sarah’s voice, Sarah’s voice. She’ll be the first to admit that she’s not the most talented vocalist in the world. She doesn’t even really try to push her voice at all. But that’s OK. That’s not why we love her. We love her because her voice soothes and calms. It’s so sweet, so lovely. One listen and you’re instantly transported to a better place. It’s the kind of voice a hostage negotiator dreams of. Not pretty in a snooty Kathleen Battle kind of way, not pretty in a fragile, arty Liz Frasier kind of way. Not pretty in a waify Dolores O’Riordan kind of way. Her voice is fairly deep and has the tiniest of rasp to it. Her accent is English without being too obvious. It’s so delicious. And she’s got sass! Cute, quirky English girl kind of sass mind you, but sass nevertheless. Check out “Lose That Girl”, from the Good Humor album:

You never know what’s next. Saint Etienne is a band not afraid to take a dare. Many of their albums have themes. Their music has influences from everywhere. They’re not afraid to try out a new genre. They do a lot of instrumentals. They even did the soundtrack for the film The Misadventures of Margaret. The soundtrack disc – released by the band as The Misadventures of Saint Etienne – features many instrumental jewels, like this track, “Dream Dentist”:

I whole-heartedly suggest that you plunk down the $20 for a Saint Etienne disc sometime. Thankfully, Sub Pop Records has begun releasing domestic copies of Saint Etienne’s CDs, so it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to try them out. Try Sound of Water to start – it’s recent and perhaps the most accessible for you auslanders. But you won’t be disappointed, I promise. And give it a listen or two. I didn’t get hooked into Sound of Water until about the middle of the second listening. But once it clicked, it clicked perfectly. Of course, I had the perfect introduction:

I bought my copy one afternoon in London at the Piccadilly Circus Virgin Megastore. My ex and I went back to our hotel room, where she wanted to take a nap. I wasn’t having any of it, so I put the disc in my portable and took off on a foot and Tube journey from Notting Hill to Westminster. It wasn’t raining at the time, but it had been all day and it was still quite misty that cold grey November afternoon.

Walking around with headphones on in a strange city is an interesting experience. On the one hand, you miss many details because you’re trapped in your own world. But on the other hand, the music leaves an indelible impression on you. Every time I put Sound of Water in the CD player, I’m instantly transported back to that moment, walking past the kabob vendors, past the row of ATMs spitting out pound notes, the earthy smell of the Tube, the dark grey rats blending in and scurrying along the tracks, the crush of rush-hour London. I remember walking halfway across Westminster bridge past St. Stephen’s Tower, looking up the Thames towards the Tower of London. I remember standing still on the bridge and letting the whole world go on without me for a few minutes. The cold November air, the mist on my glasses, the smell of the Thames and all the strange accents around me. And Saint Etienne in my ears.

And it was perfect.