Reasons to love Saint Etienne and their new single Method Of Modern Love:
1. On their myspace blog they recently said, "The BBC are rather fond of us at the mo." Yes, and so am I, at the mo.
2. The song is suitably bleepy and tinkly, but most notably it's driving - the beat has real movement to it.
3. Breathy oh oh oh oh backing vocals you can sing along with
4. The second stanza of verse 1: "There's no sense or reason / Why we're shot with a bolt of blue / And there's no path for the heart to follow / No one side that you have to choose."
5. Who in 2009 will top this chorus chorus chorus? Low-ow-ow-ow-ow-ve
6. The airy fairy climbing b-chorus, "You know there's more to modern love"
7. The subtle telephone synth in the second verse. I keep pausing my iPod to get the phone.
8. Love Love L-O-V-E in the middle eight. Spell-outs always go down well. As has been noted by numerous like-minded bloggers.
9. The dueling vocodered vocals at the end of the radio mix are BEYOND. They ping back and forth from ear to ear.
10. The best remix is grandiose. Huge. Monolithic. And done by the song's producer, the now legendary Richard X.
This is the first post of 2009 with the Best 09 tag... Thanks to Andrew
Labels: review, Saint Etienne
May I add the cover design is great?
BTW I'm one of those Americans (well, Canadians) who got rejected when trying to buy the single through the official site. But apparently it can be done via the rough trade shops website. Though I don't have my hopes to high.
This song is utter bliss. For those of us who bought, like, Foxbase Alpha and so on, to have them back is throwing us a musical bone in the middle of this shiteous recession. Thank heaven for Saint Etienne.
The song is great - there is no doubt about that. I've always likened Sarah Cracknell a bit to Debbie Harry (without the Jersey hardness) so my fondness for Saint Etienne follows naturally from my admiration of Blondie. Even though that's where the similarities begin and end! ;)
I shall never get sick of this song.
PopJustice had the perfect word for it: shimmering.
I don't see it wearing out for me either DanUK.
PS Daavid - it's very PSB, that cover art.
I'll be buying this single and putting it down my pants.
This single is total St. Etienne perfection, they crispness of the sleeve, the chorus, the sheen and twinkle of it is pure St. Etienne.
It doesn't hurt that they roped in Richard X. Trying to get him to remix something of ours.
Hope the next St. Etienne studio album doesnt take 5 years.
Agree whole-heartedly with #8 (and all of them, akshully). Love Love L-O-V-E is a brilliant verse.
I'll echo the PSB cover sentiments from earlier. Unmistakable.