Saint Etienne: International (and new single: Glad)

Sheena

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New single out on Friday ahead of the new, pop based (at last) album.

GLAD!!!

We’re excited to bring you news of our new single, ‘Glad’, and a CD EP of four brand new songs - available to pre-order now at our shop here: https://saint-etienne-official.myshopify.com/.../glad-cd-ep
‘Glad’ was co-written and co-produced with Tom Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers and will be premiered on Lauren Laverne's BBC 6 Music show this coming Friday 23rd May.
It’s the first time the song will be played anywhere, and Lauren will be dishing out all the news on our forthcoming album - its release date, plus (rather exciting) guest stars and collaborations.
In similar fashion to our recent ‘Alone Together’ CD we’re offering a 4 track CD EP for ‘Glad’. The three exclusive B-sides won’t be available in shops or on streaming platforms and the full track listing is:
1. Glad
2. Theme From Shapiro
3. Missing Pieces
4. Fire
As with ‘Alone Together’ the 'Glad' CD EP is housed in a gatefold card wallet and we will press these to order. Our pre-order window is open now at https://saint-etienne-official.myshopify.com/.../glad-cd-ep and will stay open until Friday afternoon. We will set then set the presses rolling and all orders will ship globally 4-5 weeks later. Don't miss out!
There’s a ton of news coming this Friday so be sure to stay tuned!
love Sarah, Bob and Pete xxx








 
I don't have a CD player anymore. I am not sure I've played whatever the last set of bsides is as a result (ignoring the Alone Together remix EP).

I do think my Saint Etienne collecting days are over. I really enjoyed pulling it all out and displaying it (ooh er) recently, but since then I've ignored its existence entirely and it's just gathering dust. I'm not sure I need all those CDs and cassettes now and, as we know, Saint Etienne's release strategy means I'm sitting on a goldmine.
 
I've ordered, somewhat begrudgingly after already buying the magazine with the 7 inch.

Those exclusive b-sides sealed the deal, though the chances always are they'll be LA LA NOODLE, especially with Augustin Bousfield on the credits.
 
Tracks 2 and 3 absolutely scream PEAK NOODLE from the titles alone and you have to think "Fire" probably comes from the "The Night" sessions.
 
Anything called "Theme From..." is always noodle. It's the ultimate noodle indicator.
 
I don't have a CD player anymore. I am not sure I've played whatever the last set of bsides is as a result (ignoring the Alone Together remix EP).

I do think my Saint Etienne collecting days are over. I really enjoyed pulling it all out and displaying it (ooh er) recently, but since then I've ignored its existence entirely and it's just gathering dust. I'm not sure I need all those CDs and cassettes now and, as we know, Saint Etienne's release strategy means I'm sitting on a goldmine.
I think I'm getting into that phase with a lot of artists actually
I'm not in my collecting era anymore
But that's another topic
 
Out now, summery, 60s inspired Etienne, not unlike Nothing Can Stop Us. On first listen, it’s top notch!

Album appears to be called International and out in September:

IMG_2888.png
 
They don't seem to have pressed the Spotify button yet.

Nick Heyward and Confidence Man are contrasting guests.
 
Oh I love that!

Just need the sun to come out again to enjoy it to the max :disco:
 
The sun is out here and I can confirm it was a DELIGHTFUL earworm on the stroll to work.
 
Lauren Laverne announced this would be their last album. I’m sceptical but hopefully not.

Alexa is declining to play Glad for me currently but I’ll endeavour.
 
Apparently on Lauren Laverne, she's been referring to it as "their final album" on multiple occasions.

That final song title suggests that might be the case, as well as a couple of the song titles harking back to PAST GLORIES ("He's Gone" in particular).

DON'T DO THIS TO ME.
 
I feel like they've said "final album" somewhere before- perhaps around Words and Music.
 
I’m hoping it’s a ploy to shift a few more preorders when the time comes given their penchant for finding things in the attic and garage in the past for a few extra sales.
 
I do wonder how much the stress of releasing new music physically has taken its toll- Martin took a social media break after The Night came out because people were just absolute cunts for little reason. Even with the CD release of Glad, people have been kicking off about postage, with zero idea of the cost that actually goes into the price beyond just the already extortionate Royal Mail costs.

But they don't make it easy on themselves, to be fair.
 
Yes, I always wonder why people get on like that with smaller indie artists they’re supposed to love. I mean there’s three people involved who need to be able to justify the output with some kind of profit to continue or maintain it as a career before you factor anything else in.
 
Yes, I always wonder why people get on like that with smaller artists they’re supposed to love. I mean there’s three people involved who need to be able to justify the output either way some kind of profit to continue or maintain it as a career before you factor anything else in.

The problem with Saint Etienne is their love for rarities and record collecting has often obscured getting their product out there. For a new fan, their catalogue is an absolutely bewildering minefield to navigate and so much is impossible to get without paying insane pricing.

But I have no issue with them releasing X amount of coloured variants to make ends meet- otherwise we'd never get the music. It's not like KYLIE et al who are doing it ad infinetum for a stupidly inflated chart position.
 
Short piece confirming last album, the article’s not saying too much but 2026 tour dates are being planned. I’ll travel to wherever if it is a farewell.

I'd definitely go and seem them again for a last hurrah. I've seen them three times, but they're so much fun live.
 
The problem with Saint Etienne is their love for rarities and record collecting has often obscured getting their product out there. For a new fan, their catalogue is an absolutely bewildering minefield to navigate and so much is impossible to get without paying insane pricing.

But I have no issue with them releasing X amount of coloured variants to make ends meet- otherwise we'd never get the music. It's not like KYLIE et al who are doing it ad infinetum for a stupidly inflated chart position.
I fancied collecting them a few decades ago, but even the album releases were baffling, let alone all the fan club stuff, so I swiftly gave up.
 
They definitely are for me. I couldn’t tell you how many.
 
I fancied collecting them a few decades ago, but even the album releases were baffling, let alone all the fan club stuff, so I swiftly gave up.
The trouble is this. If you have 1000 completists and you make 800 of something, you've just lost 200 completists. If you have 800 completists and you make 500 of something, you've just lost 300 completists. The way the music market works now, hardly anyone has 'casual' fans, it's first week or bust. That's no use for bands on a smaller scale.

Still, 35 years of making music is impressive, given the challenges they've faced to keep going.
 
The last couple of releases have been “press to order” and you’ve STILL had people moaning about it not being available later on.
 
Glad and the forthcoming full stop on the band's recording activities have me feeling all bittersweet this evening.

1000001602.jpg

https://www.classicpopmag.com/news/...tails-of-their-last-ever-album-international/

Brand New Me feels like a rebooted 1991 gem – Nothing Can Stop Us meets Groove Is In The Heart – and features Sarah duetting with Confidence Man’s Janet Planet.

Other collaborators include Erol Alkan (on Sweet Melodies), Vince Clarke (Two Lovers), a duet with Nick Heyward (The Go Betweens) and Paul Hartnoll of Orbital (Take Me To The Pilot) as well as a brace co-written and produced with Tim Powell of Xenomania (Dancing Heart and He’s Gone).

Theclosing track on International is a tear jerker, reflecting on where they’ve been and who they’ve become over three and a half decades – the group say goodbye to their fans, on record, for the very Last Time.
 
The last couple of releases have been “press to order” and you’ve STILL had people moaning about it not being available later on.
Well, this is the other problem. You have to have the money now. If things are tight and you can't get in under the wire, there's no chance of getting it down the line. It's a very, very difficult balance and it creates lose/lose situations for bands and artists.
 

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