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Album Reviews
Album Review: Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha/Continental (Universal)
By Marc Samuels | Published on Monday 18 May 2009
It was inevitable that Saint Etienne, a group with a heady love of nostalgia, would see their output get the remastered reissue treatment eventually; up first are their debut and a rarity, with the rest of their albums following throughout 2009/2010. ‘Foxbase Alpha’ was released back in 1991 and, despite the nods to wide-eyed Balearic enthusiasm, it still sounds positively out of time, emerging, as it did, in a year when grunge and shoegazing were sweeping away the fag-ends of baggy. It still sounds lustrous and remains both a compelling debut and one of the trio’s best albums to date, featuring blissed out dub-pop (‘Like The Swallow’), soulful balladry (‘Carnt Sleep’) and moody ambience (‘Stoned To Say The Least’), alongside two of the 90s most memorable singles in ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ and ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’. ‘Continental’, meanwhile, was only released in Japan, back in 1997. Whilst it has a somewhat compilation feel to it (in part due to the multitude of different producers and collaborators), it does work surprisingly well as an album in its own right. With the euphoric dancepop triptych of ‘He’s On The Phone’, ‘Burnt Out Car’ and ‘Stormtrooper In Drag’ all present, alongside the glam rock of ‘Star’ and typically atmospheric instrumentals and lush downtempo, it’s baffling why this wasn’t given a proper release at the time. Both CDs feature the obligatory bonus disc, compiling b-sides, rarities and unreleased tracks. And whilst these might not satisfy completists, there are still plenty of gems on offer, even if some of the unreleased tracks demonstrate why they never made it out of the vaults first time round. For the casual fan or just curious though, these welcome reissues present a perfect opportunity to start your love affair with one of Britain’s most exciting and important groups. This is pop music as it was meant to be. MS
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