Saint Etienne - Home Counties [New Album 2017]

Interesting read. For me:

1 Words And Music
2 Tales From Turnpike House
3 Tiger Bay
4 Good Humour
5 Finisterre
6 So Tough
7 Foxbase Alpha
8 Sound of Water
 
I've only had a little skippy through but this might be the first album by them that I end up not buying. Sounds a bit drab in that way they're a bit too good at, and who on earth wants songs about poxy ENGLAND at this point in time?

*buys it anyway to help first week sales up to 1,002*
 
Taking of sass, do sales through your website count to ? As they've played a blinder there, offering a bundle of 3 formats for £40ish. Considering the double vinyl seems £27-£30 elsewhere it's dirt cheap and has afforded them plenty of extra sales for the otherwise pointless cassette edition...
 
#31 in the end. I was hoping for a little more especially as the recent Blondie and Erasure (I know they have larger core fanbases) both charted very highly.
 
Did anyone bother with it? Some of the iTune samples sound nice enough, but I just know I'd play it once and then forget about it forever.
 
I like it, but it's definitely down the lower end of my Saint Etienne favourites, now it's had time to bed in. I like the album, yes, but there's no real 10/10 stunning moment for me, I don't think. Maybe that'll change. I think "Heather" may actually be my favourite now...

AND they rescheduled the only gig I could go to as I couldn't do all of them for once so I haven't even been able to see any of it live :evil:
 
BoysForSeles said:
#31 in the end. I was hoping for a little more especially as the recent Blondie and Erasure (I know they have larger core fanbases) both charted very highly.
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Do sales from your own website count? Cause the deals on there (lots of exclusives etc) would have definitely hindered them chart wise if not...
 
lolly said:
I see no reason why the sales should be excluded.
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Surely because they can be so easily manipulated, no? I mean, it used to only be "chart registered" shops in ye olden days that counted and whilst I'm sure in the days of computers this is not the case, surely albums, for example, sold at gigs can't be monitored and so via the website may be the same? "Home Counties" sold 3215 copies last week, apparently, which is down on "Words And Music" (4538 copies), but they've done a lot more promo, had great reviews, had a lot more exposure than with that album AND, most importantly in all this, the online bundle of 3 formats (vinyl, cd and cassette) was so cheap it basically gave you the cassette for about £2 more than buying vinyl and cd individually and so EVERYONE in the Etienne fanbase ended up buying that, which surely counts as 3 sales?

I'm not trying to do a "stocking problems" here, but I can't seem to get an answer either way wherever I've looked. Maybe @Robbie knows?

(I also wondered if that had some effect on the Katy Perry album "only" appearing at #5 in the midweeks, as the deluxe was only available through her own site and would have probably seen most of the fanbase buying from there)
 
They really did more promo than for Words and Music? I would have genuinely had no idea they were releasing anything had I not read it here.

The bit about the bundle is puzzling. Although I don't think we should underestimate the decline in sales in the last five years, either.
 
Sheena said:
Surely because they can be so easily manipulated, no? I mean, it used to only be "chart registered" shops in ye olden days that counted and whilst I'm sure in the days of computers this is not the case, surely albums, for example, sold at gigs can't be monitored and so via the website may be the same? "Home Counties" sold 3215 copies last week, apparently, which is down on "Words And Music" (4538 copies), but they've done a lot more promo, had great reviews, had a lot more exposure than with that album AND, most importantly in all this, the online bundle of 3 formats (vinyl, cd and cassette) was so cheap it basically gave you the cassette for about £2 more than buying vinyl and cd individually and so EVERYONE in the Etienne fanbase ended up buying that, which surely counts as 3 sales?

I'm not trying to do a "stocking problems" here, but I can't seem to get an answer either way wherever I've looked. Maybe @Robbie knows?

(I also wondered if that had some effect on the Katy Perry album "only" appearing at #5 in the midweeks, as the deluxe was only available through her own site and would have probably seen most of the fanbase buying from there)
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Sales through official artist websites do count if the site (or more likely, a third party who fulfills the orders) is registered with the OCC plus the product itself has to be registered with Millward Brown to be chart eligible. It sounds like something went wrong with the St Etienne release if those sales weren't counted.

Also album sales at gigs do count towards the chart so long as the venue is registered on a system called Lightning Live which reports the sales to the OCC http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/gig-venue-record-sales-to-be-included-in-the-charts/
 
lolly said:
They really did more promo than for Words and Music? I would have genuinely had no idea they were releasing anything had I not read it here.
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They've been all over 6Music and the indie press- by promo, I mean it relatively- they won't get on much these days...

The bit about the bundle is puzzling. Although I don't think we should underestimate the decline in sales in the last five years, either.
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Yeah, you might be right. As I said, I don't really know, but I thought it would do better than "Words And Music" position wise, if not sales. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they were lax enough to not register or if they counted the bundle as 1 sale, but that's the Et for you! :D

Thanks @Robbie
 
And out of the chart in Week 2.

PLUS CA CHANGE...
 
How long before it becomes actively unprofitable for them to continue making new music? I mean surely this one will struggle to clear 5k all told.

It doesn't help that the new album didn't go into HMV's 2 for £15 offer this week, as is usually the case after the first week of a new release. Put me off buying it. (I got Dua Lipa's album instead in a bid to remain somewhat CURRENT)
 
I'd have bought it had it not sounded like it was probably going to be a lot of drab, unmemorable tat about getting a cheap day return to Camber Sands and feeling a bit glum about Magpie not being on any more. Really not in the mood for it. I couldn't even be bothered to get a ticket for the RFH gig. Yes, I'm officially POST-ET
 
VoR said:
How long before it becomes actively unprofitable for them to continue making new music? I mean surely this one will struggle to clear 5k all told.
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Oh I don't know. They make so much money off merchandising it's ridiculous. They still sell out their tour venues quite handily as well and so I imagine they'll continue for some time. They release loads of "fan club only" stuff which must be even less profitable than the actual albums too, so I don't think it's a massive problem for them.

They also have a relatively large fanbase worldwide, so I'd hike those final sales up to the 20k area. If you do an average of £15 a sale (the double vinyl is £27 for starters!), you're still generating £300k. I can't imagine a Saint Etienne album costs THAT much to make...
 
Zu-Klara said:
I'd have bought it had it not sounded like it was probably going to be a lot of drab, unmemorable tat about getting a cheap day return to Camber Sands and feeling a bit glum about Magpie not being on any more. Really not in the mood for it. I couldn't even be bothered to get a ticket for the RFH gig. Yes, I'm officially POST-ET
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I played it this morning and did a reevaluation. I think it's down with "Sound of Water" as my least favourite studio album, but every play embeds more and more. I properly adore "Heather" now, it's glorious...
 
I do actually quite like the sound of 'Whyteleafe' and am amused rather than irritated by its mention of a Toby Carvery despite it being so HORRIBLY BRITISH

Anyone's for a BUFFET AS PER :disco:
 
I've popped it on again now cause I couldn't be bothered to change the cd in my current hungover state but it's just all a bit, well, KNOWING, I think.

I wish they'd continued in the pop vein of "Words And Music"- an interview with Bob said that they should have made that album in 1994 and I agree...
 
I
Sheena said:
I played it this morning and did a reevaluation. I think it's down with "Sound of Water" as my least favourite studio album, but every play embeds more and more. I properly adore "Heather" now, it's glorious...
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I had a third play last night and it felt a lot more solid. There's some gold here.

I don't like a lot of how it has been produced and sounds but the tunes are revealing themselves. It feels distinctly worse the "Sound Of Water" to me, but then, that album did take a long time to grow too.
 
I still like "Sound of Water" and it has the high points of its two admittedly GLORIOUS singles...
 
I love the concept of Sound Of Water: East London, wide vistas, the hinterland between the city and the suburbs.

What were the singles? I've got the CD of "How We Used To Live" (amazing title by the way), so "Heart Failed" seems like the only other obvious one. I'm guessing as I really can't remember.
 
Christian said:
I love the concept of Sound Of Water: East London, wide vistas, the hinterland between the city and the suburbs.
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Oh is that what it's meant to be? I always thought the musical vibe was Berlin at 05:00 in the morning with darkness turning into incredibly clear skies. Especially that exciting bit in 'How We Used To Live'
 
Zu-Klara said:
Oh is that what it's meant to be? I always thought the musical vibe was Berlin at 05:00 in the morning with darkness turning into incredibly clear skies. Especially that exciting bit in 'How We Used To Live'
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It's apparently London City Airport and then channeling a low flying drone east of that. So Bob says.
 
Yes, "Heart Failed" was the other single, and it's tremendous- I actually forgot "Boy Is Crying" was a single as well, because that's not much cop...

Like OUR ZU, I've always thought of it as a Berlin album too, funnily enough...
 
It just annoys me because it should have never been a single. Although yes, the single version is far better.

I should add that the "Sound of Water"'s companion album "Interlude" is QUITE FABULOUS....
 
I've randomly been playing a bit of 'Tell Me Why' this week. Obviously not strictly an Et single, but I do love a bit of dated turn-of-the-century trance. I think it might have been the first time I knowingly became exposed to The Et. I only really got into them because of Moopy (much to Sheena's CHAGRIN :D )

 
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Weirdly I was only just thinking about "Tell Me Why'" a moment ago. As it's not on any of their albums, I can't think I've played in YEARS. I like it a lot, but what upsets me more than VoR's purloining of the Et is the fact that it remains their only top ten hit when it is ENTIRELY unrepresentative of them as a band. It's entirely forgotten- they never perform it and "He's On The Phone" remains their biggest "hit" in terms of recognition...
 
Sheena said:
It just annoys me because it should have never been a single. Although yes, the single version is far better.

I should add that the "Sound of Water"'s companion album "Interlude" is QUITE FABULOUS....
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Interlude is wall to wall brilliant. I love it.

Can't say I have much time for "Boy Is Crying" in any version. It sounds like one of their 60s pastiches and then not a very good one.
 
Oh God I absolutely loved 'Tell Me Why' and, being a stoned trance head, it was a marriage made in the STARS :disco:
 
Out Of My Mind is such a gorgeous song, I'm a sucker for a sweet synth. I very much appreciate Dive's the Et at the Copacabana vibe, even if the production is more 10/10 than the song. I've seen it suggested that this is an album to be enjoyed as a whole, but (while I've never been one that is wild about them) the interludes don't do much for me and Sweet Arcadia is a bit of a horror. One spoken Sarah opus too far I think...

There's definitely a very good 11 track album here, even if at this stage it is maybe missing the highest highs that all of the previous albums included.
 
I don't get "Sweet Arcadia" either- it's alright, but it's just too ARCH...
 
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