Back in 2012, Saint Etienne returned after a sever-year absence with Words and Music by Saint Etienne. Now, they’ve announce their follow-up album.
Home Counties finds the UK alternative dance trio capturing a day in the life of the “doughnut of shires that ring the capital” of London. By writing about the post-war towns that gave birth to The Beatles, Prodigy, Depeche Mode, and the Sutton United football club, the band examines “the love/hate relationship people have with ‘home.'” “Suburbia’s anonymity is exactly why it’s a source of inspiration,” said the band’s Bob Stanley. “They said it couldn’t happen here – and it didn’t.”
The album was produced by Young Gun Silver Fox’s Shawn Lee with help from a string of collaborators including Augustus (Kero Kero Bonito), Carwyn Ellis (Colorama), Robin Bennett (The Dreaming Spires), Richard X (Girls On Top / Black Melody) and Gerard Johnson (Denim, Yes). Recording took place over a six-week span in central London.
As a first listen, the band has shared lead single “Heather”. It’s a moody synthpop number that tells the tale of a woman who “comes and she goes like the warmth in the daylight.” Take a listen:
Home Counties Album Art:
Home Counties Tracklist:
01. The Reunion
02. Something New
03. Magpie Eyes
04. Whyteleafe
05. Dive
06. Church Pew Furniture Restorer
07. Take It All In
08. Popmaster
09. Underneath The Apple Tree
10. Out Of My Mind
11. After Hebden
12. Breakneck Hill
13. Heather
14. Sports Report
15. Train Drivers In Eyeliner
16. Unopened Fan Mail
17. What Kind Of World
18. Sweet Arcadia
19. Angel Of Woodhatch
Saint Etienne will tour the UK this summer, with select US shows scheduled for the fall.
Saint Etienne 2017 Tour Dates:
05/26 – Hebden Bridge, UK @ Trades Club
05/27 – Oxford, UK @ Common People Festival
05/31 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
06/02 – London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall
06/03 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed
06/04 – Birmingham, UK @ Town Hall
06/06 – Bexhill, UK @ De La Warr Pavillion
06/08 – Newcastle, UK @ Sage
06/09 – Edinburgh – UK @ Queens Hall
06/10 – Sheffield, UK @ City Hall
06/11 – Manchester, UK @ RNMC Concert Hall
08/20 – Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
09/26 – New York, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/29 – Chicago, IL @ Park West
09/02 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre
10/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
