TEAM RNS PRESENTS

ARTIST: Saint Etienne

TITLE: Soft Like Me

LABEL: Mantra Recordings

RIPPER: Team RNS

0hr 11min total- 17.1mb

RELEASE DATE: 2003-03-17
RIP DATE: 2003-02-26

01 Soft Like Me                   4:27
02 Time and Tide                  4:01

Like most bands formed by former music
journalists, Saint Etienne was a highly
conceptual group. The trio's concept was
to fuse the British pop sounds of '60s
London with the dance club rhythms and
productions that defined the post-acid
house England of the early '90s. Led by
songwriters Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs,
and fronted by vocalist Sarah Cracknell,
the group managed to carry out their
concept, and, in the process, they
helped make indie dance a viable genre
within the U.K. Throughout the early '90s,
Saint Etienne racked up a string of
indie hit singles that were driven by
deep club beats  encompassing anything
from house and techno to hip-hop and
disco  and layered with light melodies,
detailed productions, clever lyrics, and
Cracknell's breathy vocals. They revived
the sounds of swinging London, as well
as the concept of the three-minute pop
single being a catchy, ephemeral piece of
ear candy, in post-acid house Britain,
thereby setting the stage for Brit-pop.
Though most Brit-pop bands rejected
the dance inclinations of Saint
Etienne, they nevertheless adopted the
trio's aesthetic, which celebrated the
sound and style of classic '60s pop.
The origins of Saint Etienne date back
to the early '80s, when childhood
friends Bob Stanley (b. December 25, 1964)
and Pete Wiggs (b. May 15, 1966) began
making party tapes together in their
hometown of Croydon, Surrey, England.
After completing school, the pair began
worked various jobs  most notably,
Stanley was a music journalist  before
deciding to concentrate on a musical
career in 1988. Adopting the name Saint
Etienne from the French football team of
the same name, the duo moved to Camden,
where they began recording. By the
beginning of 1990, the group had signed
a record contract with the indie label
Heavenly. In the spring of 1990, Saint
Etienne released their first single, a
house-tinged cover of Neil Young's "Only
Love Can Break Your Heart," which
featured lead vocals from Moira Lambert
of the indie pop band Faith Over Reason.

"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" became
an underground hit, receiving a fair
amount of airplay within nightclubs
across England. Later in the year,
Saint Etienne released their second
single, a cover of the indie pop group
Field Mice's "Kiss and Make Up," which
was sung by Donna Savage of the New
Zealand band Dead Famous People. Like
its predecessor, "Kiss and Make Up" was an
underground hit, helping set the stage
for "Nothing Can Stop Us." Released in
the spring of 1991, "Nothing Can Stop
Us" was the first Saint Etienne single
sung by Sarah Cracknell (b. April 12,
1967), whose girlish vocals became a
signature of the group's sound.
Cracknell was the main vocalist on the
band's debut Fox Base Alpha, which was
released in the fall of 1991. Following
the release of Fox Base Alpha, Cracknell
officially became a member of Saint
Etienne; she had previously sung in

"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" was
re-released in conjunction with Fox Base
Alpha and cracked the lower end of the
British pop charts. Saint Etienne was
beginning to gain momentum, as the British
press generally gave them positive
reviews and their records were gaining
a strong fan base not only in England,
but throughout Europe. During 1992, the
group released a series of singles
"Join Our Club," "People Get Real," and
"Avenue"  which maintained their
popularity. In addition to writing and
recording music for Saint Etienne,
Stanley and Wiggs became active producers,
songwriters, remixers, and label heads
as well. In 1989, Stanley had founded
Caff Records, which issued
limited-edition 7" singles of bands as
diverse as Pulp and the Manic Street
Preachers, as well as a number of other
lesser-known bands like World of Twist.
In 1992, Stanley and Wiggs founded Ice
Rink, which intended to put out records
by pop groups, not rock groups. The label
released singles from several artists
including Oval, Sensurround, Elizabeth
City Slate, and Golden, which featured
Stanley's girlfriend, Celina  none of
which gained much attention.

Preceded by the single "You're in a Bad
Way," Saint Etienne's second album So
Tough appeared in the spring of 1993 to
generally positive reviews and increased
sales. Over the course of 1993, the
group released three more singles  "Who
Do You Think You Are," "Hobart
Paving," and "I Was Born on Christmas
Day"  which all charted well. In 1994,
the trio began to lose momentum, as their
third album Tiger Bay was greeted with
decidedly mixed reviews, even as
singles like "Like a Motorway" continued
to chart well. After completing a new
track, "He's on the Phone," for their
1995 singles compilation, Too Young to
Die, as well as the French-only single
"Reserection," Saint Etienne took an
extended break during 1996. Sarah
Cracknell pursued a solo project,
releasing a single titled "Anymore" in
the fall of the year. Bob Stanley and
Pete Wiggs began a record label for EMI
Records, which had the intention of
releasing music from young, developing
bands. In the fall of 1996, Saint
Etienne released a remix album, Casino
Classics; a new studio effort, Good
Humour, followed two years later, and
the trio returned in 1999 with an EP,
Places to Visit. The full-length Sound
of Water appeared in mid-2000,
featuring guest appearances by Sean
O'Hagan (of the High Llamas) and To Rococo
Rot. After a successful U.S. tour in
support of Sound of Water the group
issued Interlude, a collection of new
tracks, instrumentals, and B-sides, in
early 2001. A year later, the trio
followed up with Finisterre for Mantra.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine