Rather than call their ninth studio album something glib like ‘Straight Outta Reigate’ or ‘…At Chelmsford Prison’ (after Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell’s respective hometowns), Saint Etienne have decided to continue their classy pop output with ‘Home Counties’; their first album since 2012’s ‘Words and Music By…’ and by and large a collection as excellent as that was.
It’s called ‘Home Counties’ because that is what it’s about. All three members originate from the ‘doughnut of shires’ that surround London and they’re here to tell you all about them. The record comprises 19 songs focused on their love/hate (but mostly loving) relationship with the places they call home and it’s full of the diversity that you’d expect from a Saint Etienne record.
Something they always have on their side is their seemingly effortless talent in bringing a group of songs together and making them fit perfectly as a whole.
‘Home Counties’ is peppered with BBC radio-style interludes that remind you of the subject matter (any album containing a Ken Bruce sample is a winner in my book) and act as a useful buffer, allowing the following track to feel more welcoming. On paper this may err on the side of twee, but on the record it’s a masterstroke.
Something that is noticeable on ‘Home Counties’ is the lack of a good hook in many of the songs, but that doesn’t detract from the overall feel. The lyrics are brilliantly evocative, with their talk of sunny train journeys alongside trips to the countryside, and set the mind to daydreaming as much as a favourite passage in a book.
It’s the best type of poetry set to a wide range of accomplished musical styles. The up-tempo dance numbers so prevalent in the band’s early '90s output are few and far between here - aside from the disco-funk of Dive - and they are countered with slower, brooding cuts such as Sweet Arcadia and the understated instrumental Breakneck Hill.
There’s probably an underlying sense of post-Brexit doom that has contributed towards the band making this record and it may be a call for simpler times rather than the UK’s current sense of disarray. Saint Etienne love the home counties as much now as they did then and that does shine through at the heart of an interesting, very listenable pop record.
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