SAINT ETIENNE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Saint Etienne's landmark 10th studio album comes 30 years after the outfit put out their notable debut, Foxbase Alpha. The much loved London crew have since become cult favourites in the downtempo and chilled out electronic realm. This new record much to the delight of fans, has been made largely from samples and sounds drawn from their halcyon period between 1997 and 2001. A such the whole record was made remotely, rather than together in a studio, and in collaboration with film and TV composer Gus Bousfield. The sounds are optimistic and nostalgic at the same time and come on all formats including this limited edition clear wax.

Review: Second time around for Saint Etienne's 2012 album "Words and Music by Saint Etienne", a typically breezy, summery and ear-pleasing affair in which Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell delivered a suitably glossy, up-beat take on synth-pop with their usual effortlessly Balearic twist. Highlights are plentiful, from sunny opener "I've Got Your Music" and the string-laden swell of "The Last Days of Disco", to the largely acapella "Record Doctor", baggy and Balearic "Twenty Five Years" and the attractively jangling "Haunted Jukebox". The pop perfection continues on disc two ("More Words and Music"), a previously highly limited bonus album that was originally sold during one of the band's tours of North America.

Review: Second time around for Saint Etienne's 2012 album "Words and Music by Saint Etienne", a typically breezy, summery and ear-pleasing affair in which Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell delivered a suitably glossy, up-beat take on synth-pop that arguably owes more to the Pet Shop Boys and their own early works than some of their more celebrated albums. Highlights are plentiful, from sunny opener "I've Got Your Music" and the string-laden swell of "The Last Days of Disco", to the largely acapella "Record Doctor", baggy and Balearic "Twenty Five Years" and the attractively jangling "Haunted Jukebox". Pop perfection tailor made for sunny days and lazy afternoons: don't sleep!

Review: The theme is in the title here, with the British pop legends - always unusually skilled at bringing a sense of place to their music as well as chronicling the strange specifics of British culture - using the geographical region as a springboard to a collection of bittersweet electronic-powered ditties whose melodic sweetness and melancholic aspect remain indelible regardless of context and concept, just as Sarah Cracknell's voice has never sounded so beguiling and evocative. Not merely the only one record this year to include Radio 4 announcements amongst its tracks, 'Home Counties' is a record with both head screwed on and heart-on-sleeve.