Saint Etienne reflect on their time together with a final release full of heavyweight collaborations and life affirming music.

Release Date: 5th September 2025

Label: Heavenly

Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital

SYNTH LADEN, DREAMY POP

Since 1990, Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs have navigated the shifting musical landscape and social commentary, and now, 35 years later, Saint Etienne release their final album, solidifying their synth-laden, dreamy pop, indie-house legacy. This, their 13th album, is a bittersweet reflection of their three decades of quality output, featuring heavyweight collaborations with Tom Rowlands, Vince Clarke, and Paul Hartnoll. It’s life-affirming pop with the dreamy sound for which they have garnered unequivocal acclaim. This 43-minute farewell showcases the very best and boldest of the band.

SNAP, CRACKNELL & POP

The album kicks off with Glad, a pulsating, euphoric track featuring Jez Williams of Doves. It’s a dance-floor grower with sumptuous brass licks, reminding us that their sound is built on never holding back from the experimentally absurd. Sarah Cracknell’s refrain, “Don’t it make you glad…”, serves as a euphoric resolution to their swan song. This must have been a clear standout track to open with when curating the track list. The soaring chorus and pop-synth are the strongest nods to their 90s classic hits.

Synth-Pop is difficult to replicate well, especially when produced so richly. In Dancing Heart, Saint Etienne have unashamedly produced an unapologetic and unwavering electronic sound of pop effervescence that narrates fleeting romance and nods to previous heartbreak. The opening three tracks of rich synth-pop hit a crescendo with The Go Betweens featuring Nick Heyward. There are sweeping vignettes of Spectrum ZX playing days with that seminal sound of what we thought the future might sound like in the 80s – think Pet Shop Boys lust and you’re almost there.

The duetting and harmony between Nick Heyward and Sarah Cracknell provide the perfect foreground to the rich sound layered beneath. Rich with soaring strings, Sweet Melodies is a track of dreamy and whimsical sauntering. There is an ethereal-like element to some of the best vocal performances on recent Saint Etienne output. It showcases the expensive sound and sampling that the band can still produce and is a love letter to a city they still adore.

A Sound of the Decades

Save It For A Rainy Day sees the feel of the album change. There is a richer and funkier baseline with more 80s pop-style keys over the top. That’s the most swagger in this track; anything including cowbell should have! It’s clear with the lyrics of this track that they are a band who understand how to build longevity. There is a house undertone and slots in well after the opening four tracks.

The opening lyric in Fade is “Don’t wanna start a fight.” Again, there is a poignant narrative built within the track and the vocal orchestration; these balance perfectly against some of the more open-hearted lyrics of the album. This track is an acknowledgment that we are bidding goodbye and farewell, but with pulsating joy that the band easily offer up. The evolution of St Etienne’s ever-morphing sound is resolutely paid its due in the 90s trip-hop track offering Brand New Me. There exist some evocative and empowering lyrics here supported with some playful upbeat sampling.

GRANDSTANDING ACID HOUSE

Saint Etienne navigate further through their signature synth-pop, electro-dance repertoire with the Faithless-inspired Take Me To The Pilot. It’s a grandstand acid house track that builds and drops in a way only the 90s and early 2000s knew how to. It’s a great testament to a band who salvage a fresh modern sound in the midst of their recognisable sound. 

Two Lovers continues the curious craft of the classic sound of the band yet set within a modern sound. The outcome is a rich production of vocal balance within the crescendo of synth and strings. Despite this being a last dance, there is no holding back on laying out, heart and soul, some of the wry heartbreak we all feel at times. 

Why Are You Calling allows Cracknell to unapologetically call out these past loves in a more subtle and gentle manner than the previous tracks have allowed. It hits well here as the album begins to close and reminds us that there is still lyrical life in the band that resonates with the audience.

CLASSIC LOOPS

He’s Gone is a pop romp that propels the rich keys and classic dance drum loops to the fore. It’s further evidence of the more recent work of the band but still not straying too far from the classic synth sound. The evoking final track, not-so-subtly named 

The Last Time, is a memory-laden saunter through the pulsating piano and rich strings that echo through to the close of the album. This is Saint Etienne at their most bittersweet, and it is the perfect close to a wonderful bow out.

It is hard to position Saint Etienne in the pantheon of British music legends. They’re much understated and likely never dominated a genre in the same way those that trod in similar paths may have done: Blondie, Pet Shop Boys, and Massive Attack. Yet their influence, as is heard thoroughly throughout this record, will stretch for musicians and time to come. Amid the rapid pace of trends that pave the way for artists in this new music world, this album counters with timeless depth and an ideology of good production and crafted lyrics. This band endures, and so will their records. There are rumours and plans of a full UK tour in 2026, so it will not be the last we hear from them; their legacy will sustain: dreamy, dazzling, and effortlessly cool. 

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