Saint Etienne: Sound Of Water
With Saint Etienne, every pop moment is a perfect moment. For the last 10 years, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell have played with northern soul, Italian house, easy-listening lounge sounds, dubby beats and more. So it's no surprise that they're set for another twist. Recorded in Berlin with German experimentalists, To Rococo Rot, and High Llama's Beach Boys dreamer, Sean O'Hagan, Sound Of Water blends rich and dark electronic flavourings with wispy, summery classic pop touches with Sarah Cracknell's white soul purr always nudging proceedings towards a state of lush, dreamlike bliss. The songs like Sycamore and How We Used To Live are crafted like modernist Bacharach and David statements, albeit modern statements with avant-garde hooks. The best, it seems, just got better.
By Jim Carroll