Saint Etienne may be the only band to ever successfully understand how to make music that activates the intellect while getting the ass in motion. The Talking Heads sort of grasped how to do this, and Kylie too, but Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs really got the memo. Their supposed final album, International, drops tomorrow, and it's quite possibly their best, most rounded record yet.
Just when you realize how great they've always been, they head for the curtains?
International cranks open with "Glad", a rouser with guitar courtesy of Jez Williams of Doves, and assistance from The Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands. It's a banger, as is "Dancing Heart", a track where Sarah seems to be channelling both Minogue and Curtis ("Dance, dance, dance", indeed). That one, with help from Tim Powell of Xenomania (production for Sugababes, Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, etc.), is one of many collaborations here, with "The Go-Betweens" featuring Nick Heyward of Haircut 100 likely the best of the lot. The absolute slice of sunshine, with a chorus namechecking quite possibly my favorite band since The Beatles, is a song that soars. Resolutely upbeat, smart, and direct, Saint Etienne once again aim for pop heights and reach them with ease. And "Brand New Me", a duet with Janet Planet of Confidence Man, sounds like the Saint Etienne I fell in love with 35 years ago. It's brash, catchy as hell, and full of life. Similarly, "Two Lovers" takes us back to the styles of the group's Nineties work, and Sarah's solo stuff too, with help from Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure), while "Fade" veers in a similar direction, sharp synth-pop of the highest order served up again.
What other band could release an album so intensely personal and full of reflection as The Night, then turn around and in less than 12 months after drop an album as wonderfully Pop as International? Only this one, folks. And, on a note both bittersweet and wonderfully charming, International closes with "The Last Time", the final selection on their last album (but let's hope it's not). Sarah sings about looking back, taking stock, and all that, and the electronic textures of the track bubble and pulse behind her vocals. Even as Cracknell deftly quotes Adam and the Ants, the song seems to be very much the perfect Saint Etienne composition, which is to say it's buoyant, catchy, and utterly unique in its deft blending of so many varieties of Pop at once.
And so, in a week where Suede are putting out a new record, and Ivy have returned with a new long-player to honor a late member, we find Saint Etienne putting out their final album. And yet, Saint Etienne still sound like they've got all the energy they had 30 years ago. Is this 1995 or really the end then? The members seem indefatigable, resolutely chasing after a hook or beat which will stir the pulse. I can't imagine any of these three ever stopping. Here's hoping this disco of theirs never closes, but if it has to, please play International as loudly as possible, and get on the floor and shake what you've got.
International by Saint Etienne is out via Heavenly Recordings on Friday, September 5, 2025.
[Photo: Rob Baker Ashton]