The Gate, Cardiff

Fri 25 May

words: JAMES W ROBERTS photos: SIMON AYRE

★★★★☆

Evergreen and with a raised eyebrow combined with affection and geeky analysis of pop’s rich history, Saint Etienne return to Cardiff for the first time in 19 years. A packed and sweltering ‘Gate’ brimming with faded Foxbase Alpha t-shirts and Island Records garments suggest Cardiff’s babysitters are making a good trade on this balmy Friday.

Like Kraftwerk meets Stock, Aitken and the train enthusiast chap, Like A Motorway rumbles into play: Sarah Cracknell resplendent in sparkly sequins, flanked by the synths of Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs and framed by a suitably motorik grainy Super 8 video of Alexanderplatz and Autobahn-related gubbins.

Thankfully, Saint Etienne’s latest album Words And Music is an exercise in perfectly executed pop and finds favour amongst the whooping and jigging hordes of fortysomethings filling the pews of The Gate. This excellence is confirmed by the luscious Tonight, totally apt in its summery wistfulness, and the jangle of Haunted Jukebox making everything seem like a hybrid between Eurovision and an inde disco. Come to think of it, why haven’t Saint Etienne ever had a stab at Eurovision?

Cracknell’s banter is on top form – sipping a G&T, looking every inch the France Gallesque, conceptual pop star, forgetting the lyrics and lamenting that ironically, when she was 17, she never forgot lyrics. Occasionally teetering on the brink of parody, Cracknell’s reluctant-star poses and the time honoured success of the ‘two shadowy men on synths’ dynamic continues to pay dividends (see also Black Box Recorder) and, as ever, wins through.

The classic Nothing Can Stop Us soars and breezes in perfect electro-Gallic charm, signalling a barrage of hits. Sylvia proves a huge hit with the perspiring movers, and Cracknell is even joined by an annoying Bez character at one point – before the familiar Only Love Can Break Your Heart precedes a stellar climax with the wry cheese-pop of He’s On The Phone.