Saint Etienne are back with their 12th studio album, ambient collection ‘The Night’.
The follow-up to 2021’s ‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’ is a collaboration between Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and composer and producer Augustin Bousfield, conceived in the first half of 2024.
“It was great to all be in the same studio together again up at Gus’s in Bradford, we realized that it had been several years since we’d actually done that, sprawling out on the carpet, mugs of coffee in hand, sheets of lyrics and half ideas for titles lying around us,” says Pete of the 14-song collection.
“We wanted to continue the mellow and spacey mood of the last album, perhaps even double down on it, but it’s a very different album, not based on samples; Songs, moods and spoken pieces drift in and out whilst rain pours down outside. It’s the kind of record I like to listen to in the dark or with my eyes closed.”
“We were trying to find the state that’s between being awake and asleep,” continues Bob, “that dream space, with half forgotten thoughts drifting in, bits of TV dialogue, place names, streets, or football grounds you’ve never even been to.
“You feel very receptive to sound and half-covered memories when you’re in that state. Rain noise runs right through it. It was designed to gently wash away the stuff in your head that keeps you awake at 2am.
“I think ‘The Night’ sounds really three-dimensional. A lot of that is down to Gus Bousfield who played the guitars and did a wonderful production job. Recording it in his studio, with so much light and space, has helped to shape it too.
“The three of us brought in our own songs, but lyrically we were all in tune with each other without having to swap notes first. You could think of it as one continuous, single track. It’s definitely a headphone album.”
The tracks Half Light and Daydream are out now.
‘The Night’ is out December 13 and is available to pre-order from Amazon, HMV, Rough Trade, Townsend and more. Listen to Half Light and Daydream below.
Tracklist: Saint Etienne – The Night
1. Settle In
2. Half Light
3. Through The Glass
4. Nightingale
5. Northern Counties East
6. Ellar Carr
7. When You Were Young
8. No Rush
9. Gold
10. Celestial
11. Preflyte
12. Wonderlight
13. Hear My Heart
14. Alone Together
