Saint Etienne - The Night

Äußerst stilsicher zeigen sich Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley und Pete Wiggs auf „The Night“. Zumindest hinsichtlich der Gestaltung des großartigen Plattencovers. Musikalisch schlafwandeln Saint Etienne leider zwischen verträumten Ambientklängen, sphärischen Soundscapes, fragmentartigen Klanglandschaften und angedeuteten Indiepopsongs umher. Die Plattenkritiker sind von diesem vorweihnachtlichen, fast schon besinnlich zu nennenden Überraschungsalbum überraschend begeistert: derzeit stehen bei Metacritic 85/100 Punkte zu Buche.  

„The Night“ bietet 14 Songs in 41:54 Minuten und ist als CD und LP (black Vinyl, Coke Bottle Vinyl, Splatter Vinyl) seit dem 13. Dezember erhältlich.

 

By deconstructing their identity, Saint Etienne have created a coherent sequence of remarkable songs which sound like everything else they have done and nothing else, at the same time. It is a very impressive achievement. ‘When You Were Young’, for example, is a ghost of a track, like the Saint Etienne of Tiger Bay heard in a fog. The album slips through reflective vignettes, such as ‘Half Light’, which evokes the dusk, and ‘Through the Glass’, which expresses the feeling of falling asleep, unsure whether what you see is real or imagined. This unmoored, half-conscious state persists through the album unleashes memories and emotions which are somehow detached. ‘Nightingale’ is a gorgeous lullaby from a fable. The wordless ‘Northern Counties East’ hums with the atmosphere of a particular place and time, but names and details are just out of reach. On ‘Ellar Carr’ the words come in fragments, piecing together a Bradford memory.

(The Quietus)

 

The Night is a deadly serious, very heavy record made by a band who have taken all they've learned about dynamics and songcraft and, with the help of producer Augustin Bousfield, come up with the kind of album that, if made by a group other than them, might have topped year-end lists made by serious music publications. As it is, the record will likely exist as a lost treasure to be excavated years down the road to be loved and emulated. Saint Etienne have made more than their share of great albums over the years; chalk this up as one of the best and proof that they have become more than just a brilliant pop act. The Night and I've Been Trying to Tell You are the work of a group on a journey of deep artistic reinvention and discovery, and anyone along for the ride should count themselves very lucky.

(All Music)