Released: 10 September 2021
Saint Etienne revisit the late ‘90s on their latest album ‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’.
The eight-track LP sees the group dissect pop music from 1997-2001, for a concept piece that explores “memory, how it works, how it tricks you and creates a dream-like state.”
It’s a bold undertaking from the group and a complete 180 from their most recent album, 2017’s ‘Home Counties’, which is firmly rooted in pop territory.
And while it’d seem obvious for an album drawing on classic hits from Natalie Imbruglia and Samantha Mumba to be wall-to-wall pop smashes, Saint Etienne slow things right down for an abstract and largely-instrumental ambient LP.
‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’ is intrinsically cryptic; lead track Pond House features the refrain “here it comes again” – the subject of which remains a mystery – while Fonteyn’s “and you call to me” is evocative and eerily hypnotic.
While the album defies conventional song structure, the execution of the concept is impressive, from the music, to song titles, tracklist and the choice of samples.
Some songs specify locations (Pond House, Broad River), while others pinpoint objects (Blue Kite), sounds (Music Again), or even memory itself (I Remember It Well), each weaving through samples that allow the listener to apply their own experiences to the musical narrative.
Alongside the album is a film directed by photographer and longtime collaborator of the group Alasdair McLellan, echoing his own nostalgia for the ‘90s, inspired by the music on offer.
Fans of Saint Etienne’s work with pop powerhouse Xenomania and Richard X might take a minute to adjust to the group’s new music, but persevere – ‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’ is an album to be played in full, front to back, with each experience unique, individual and deeply personal.
‘I’ve Been Trying To Tell You’ is available on CD, vinyl and cassette.
Interview: Pete Wiggs: ‘What makes a Saint Etienne song? I don’t know!’
