Thursday, December 26, 2024

Song(s) of the Day # 3,954 Saint Etienne

 

The Night Saint Etienne's  album slipped out a couple of weeks ago. They've always been a remarkable and thoughtful band. Never quite like anyone else given the particular and single vision of Bob Stanley, a Rock Journalist and author and film director with his own perspective on Pop Music and its glorious opportunities.. Also it's fair to say a genuine visionary in the tradition of Brian Wilson.

The Night is a spooky record which reflects athe steadily advancing age of the people who made it, and the tendency of  looking at life in a slightly detached manner as you do as you come towards your sixties. There's no effort here to attract folk onto the dancefloor, a primary objective of earlier records, certainly the singles the band is best known for.

 But it's nevertheless a record carefully crafted with the bands core listeners in mind. It has an awareness of the changes that take place within as our age advances . People with children of their own now, perhaps departing the nest. Older, calmer, wiser. 

Perhaps it's a record best listened to before you turn in, . Sitting at your window with headphones on. Straining your eyes into the pitch darkness in the hope of spotting  a fox or hedgehogs appearing suddenly out of darkness on the lawn. This is a treasurable band and it's wonderful to witness their inspired and inspirational transition. 

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