Album title: Home Counties
Artist: Saint Etienne
Genre: Alt-Dance
Nationality: English
Release date: June 2
Position in Discography: Ninth
Estimated Rating:
Have I heard of this artist? Yes
Have I heard anything by this artist? No
Average RYM Score: 3.28
Interesting start: a radio broadcast from Radio 4 – reminds me of the opening of Sean Filkins'
War and Peace and Other Short Stories. I like this when it gets going though I would call it more synthpop than dance music. Really nice; sort of reminds me of Swing Out Sister in a way. Okay, well, “Dive” brings in more dance elements, quite funky too with some great brass and a kind of Mexican/mariachi feel to it. Love this. Despite being less than two minutes long, and basically a choir, “Church Pew Furniture Restorer” is excellent, not that there has been anything here so far that hasn't been. An indication of how good this is is that when I originally saw there were nineteen tracks on the album, I groaned and rolled my eyes. Now, having heard so far eleven tracks, it's not a problem at all.
“Heather” is another standout, but then I love “Train Drivers in Eyeliner” too. I was trying to think who she reminds me of, and on “Unopened Fan Mail” I get it: Sharleen Spiteri from Texas. Very similar, at least on this track, and a few others. Not that she's in any way copying or ripping her off, but the style is quite similar. But then, I love Texas, so that's not a bad thing. All right, there's absolutely nothing on this I don't love. “Sweet Arcadia” is one part spoken word, one part proggy organ extravaganza and one part haunting vocal coda. I could do without the little interludes – don't get the point, although given the album title, a look back to gentle English societal norms might cover that – but everything here is gold, and there's much platinum too. Consider me a new fan.
Check out more from this artist? Downloading their discography now
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes but I still maintain this is more pop/synthpop
Actual Rating:
