Albums: International

Back in 1990 two childhood friends from the suburbs of South London, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, decided to make records. Having no musicianship skills themselves (though Pete now has a music degree) but brimming with ideas this was ambitious.  What they did have were plenty of ideas, knowledge of how the music scene worked and a love of those 7- inch and 12-inch black vinyl disks. With the help of producer Ian Catt and his home studio equipment it all started promisingly. They made the brilliant Only Love Can Break Your Heart, a Neil Young cover sung by guest vocalist Moira Lambert and later remixed by Andy Weatherall as Only Love Can Break Your Heart ( A Mix of Two Halves). Not as commercially successful as it should have been, due to a pink barcode which wouldn’t scan properly, the record was however one of the best records of the year.

Initially the plan was just to get some records made and put out but with the intention of having a revolving guest vocalist on each single they created. The idea was also to make a record inspired by the  mix tapes that they used to hand to each other as mates – tapes which would include favourite music preceded by clips from movies and adverts. When they met Sarah Cracknell however, who had a great voice and who they got on well with, the idea of having guest vocalists was forgotten and Sarah became the permanent singer with the band, the eleven more consistently interesting albums followed.

Their thirteenth and final album. International isn’t a sad and regretful farewell. It’s a joyous final party. It’s also meeting of friends and influences. The title of the album (also the name of a track on the early influential OMD album Dazzle Ships) reflects their cosmopolitan viewpoint; voice clips include Swedish, Japanese and French samples.

Saint Etienne, the group who began as an indie-dance project are going out with a party album full of big, bright bangers, produced by Tim Powell, formerly of Girls Aloud/Sugababes team Xenomania. Lead single Glad, the Chemical Brothers/Doves collaboration which opens proceedings, sets the tone. 

Such guest appearances are a recurring feature of International, as if the trio are ticking off the wishlist while they still can. On The Go-Betweens, it’s Nick Heyward. On Two Lovers, a Brief Encounter-style narrative about a couple “forced into secrecy”, it’s Vince Clarke. On the spy movie-sounding "Take Me To The Pilot" it’s Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll. Best of all is the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Brand New Me, a cousin to Foxbase classics Nothing Can Stop Us or Springtime, with spoken-word soliloquys from Crackers and guest vocals from Confidence Man’s Janet Planet.

The between-song interludes which characterised their early albums are back, some of them (in Swedish or Japanese) emphasising the international theme, and others Easter Egg callbacks for the real Etienne heads. These include Colin Murray reciting the same pre-Countdown Conundrum spiel that Richard Whiteley delivered on Foxbase Alpha, and Katie Puckrik recalling the time a chemically altered Pete Wiggs told her during a backstage Glastonbury interview that his biggest influence was “Mothra, the giant moth”.

Sarah Cracknell reportedly cried during the recording of album closer The Last Time, which reflects on the changes in the group’s lives over 30-odd years. The opening track, Glad, was the first song from the album to be released as a single and has Sarah Cracknell’s voice at its sweetest with a track arranged by Chemical Brother Tom Rowlands and a lovely echoey sample reminiscent of Behaviour era Pet Shop Boys. "Dancing Heart" is a straightforward late night euphoric dance song while Nick Heyward duets on "The Go Between", his voice sounding mature and unrecognisable at first but obviously an early influence along with Vince Clarke who also contributes to the album.

"Sweet Melodies" also has a Pet Shop Boys tinge to it and, in keeping with the title, a haunting melody, while the equally haunting "Take Me to The Pilot", has contributions from Orbital's Paul Hartnoll. Brand New Me, also released as a single accompanied by an Archies style animated video, has Sarah duetting with Janet Planet from Confidence Man. Tim Powell of Xenomania produces a lot of the album with the band.

The last song – entitled "The Last Time" is a joyous and emotional finish, introduced with a clip of the current Countdown presenter Colin Murray reciting word for word the voice clip of Richard Whiteley used on Foxbase Alpha. In the ne, Saint Etienne want you to remember them this way with with the pop album of all our lives. 

 

International Track List: 

 

1. Glad

2. Dancing Heart

3. The Go Betweens

4. Sweet Melodies

5. Save it For A Rainy Day

6. Fade

7. Brand New Me

8. Take Me To The Pilot

9. Two Lovers

10. Why Are You Calling

11. He's Gone

12. The Last Time