Saint Etienne
International
Heavenly
Release Date: 09/05/25
Thirty-five years ago, in the spring of 1990, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs formally commenced their recording career as Saint Etienne when they unveiled their dancefloor-friendly, daydream-inducing reimagination of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” featuring Moira Lambert’s melancholic vocals. The group’s auspicious entrée into the burgeoning UK dance music paradigm of the early 1990s—courtesy of their inaugural, insta-classic single and their breakthrough debut album Foxbase Alpha (1991)—functioned as a harbinger of the dynamic, dignified legacy they would proceed to cultivate across the ensuing three-and-a-half decades.
With a symbiotic penchant for crafting sterling, sophisticated pop music that seamlessly incorporates retro influences while always sounding contemporary and fresh, the prolific trio of Stanley, Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell have meticulously curated an expansive recorded repertoire, now spanning thirteen studio albums alongside an abundance of compilations, EPs and single releases. But as the old adage admonishes, “all good things must come to an end,” and they have proclaimed that their thirteenth and latest studio affair, International, will indeed be their final album as a group.
“We all have different reasons for why it’s time to say goodbye,” Cracknell explains in an official statement. “But for me, I always wanted to finish on a high, I didn’t want to dribble off. We wanted this to be a peak.”
“I like career arcs,” Stanley confides. “It feels like a natural conclusion—with this album there’s a sense of getting the school year back together. It’s one closing act that ties the loose ends up.”
Produced by Tim Powell, formerly of the writing & production outfit Xenomania (Girls Aloud, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys), with a slew of contributions from the group’s revered peers, it’s also a closing act that largely returns to the band’s more ebullient, uptempo fare that arguably embodies their signature sound. It’s a refreshing pivot following the group’s recent commitment to the more subdued, downtempo compositions that comprise their two previous LPs—the cinematic I’ve Been Trying To Tell You (2021) and ambient The Night (2024), both excellent and essential components of their catalog, mind you.
Co-written and produced with the Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands and featuring the guitar work of Doves’ Jez Williams, lead single “Glad” opens the album with a propulsive, high-energy melody, as Cracknell examines the spectrum of emotional extremes, best encapsulated in the song’s chorus (“Don't it make you sad / When you are lonely / Don't it make you sad / When you're alone / Don't it make you glad / When the sun shines in your eyes / Don't it make you glad / To be alive / And don't it make you sad?”). It’s an undeniable standout, but just one of multiple highlights to be heard across the album’s twelve tracks.
Other inspired moments accentuate the trio’s stylistic versatility and appreciation for pop in its multitude of forms, including the wistful, electroclash-esque “Dancing Heart,” which serves as an anthem to dancefloor-driven escapism, with Cracknell musing, “Moments like these they don’t last forever / Turn them to memories.” The group summons the funk on the stirring “Save It For A Rainy Day,” while the ode to personal reawakening “Brand New Me” is an effervescent, brass-enhanced soul jaunt featuring Janet Planet of the Australian electro-pop band Confidence Man. And the luminous disco house of penultimate song “He’s Gone” warrants repeated listening.
Listen to the Official Singles & Watch the Official Videos:
Saint Etienne invite fellow UK music royalty to lend their expertise to two of the set’s more absorbing tunes. First, Paul Hartnoll of Orbital renown aids the penetrating soundscape of “Take Me To The Pilot,” which Stanley describes as “a dark mystery, a flight to somewhere new, somewhere to make your heart beat faster.” On the ensuing track “Two Lovers,” synth-pop legend Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure) lends his hand to the haunting, heartrending exploration of a clandestine affair doomed to futility.
The group eases up on the throttle at times, beginning with the Erol Alkan-assisted “Sweet Melodies,” an endearing, subdued tribute to an anonymous, recently departed songwriter, the song’s title also an apt summation of the group’s overall recorded oeuvre to date. Gliding along a subtle breakbeat amidst piano and synth flourishes, the beautifully orchestrated “Fade” positions Cracknell’s vocals and spoken words squarely at the forefront.
The album-closing “The Last Time” is a bittersweet farewell that finds Cracknell confiding, “No I’m really glad we made the trip / because only three survive,” alluding to Saint Etienne’s creative adventures and perseverance over the years.
A fitting climax to their brilliant career, International reaffirms Saint Etienne’s propensity for crafting songs designed to stimulate our senses and illuminate our understanding of—and appreciation for—life and love. For thirty-five years, they have never wavered in their steadfast conviction that pop music possesses a unique power to enrich our souls, and few artists have manifested this passion as exquisitely and evocatively through their music as Saint Etienne have.
Saint Etienne’s native UK—and their beloved London in particular—has been a prominent muse and enduring source of inspiration for their music for three-and-a-half decades. Indeed, musically speaking, Saint Etienne are synonymous with England. But for all of us fortunate enough to have fallen madly in love with their songs throughout our lifetimes, regardless of where we each call home around the world, Saint Etienne have been—and will always be—a truly international treasure. Thank you Bob, Pete and Sarah.
Notable Tracks: “Brand New Me” | “Fade” | “Glad” | “He’s Gone”