
SAINT ETIENNE
The Night (Heavenly)
UK three-piece Saint Etienne’s 12th studio album is comprised of 14 short tracks. Settle In, the opening number, begins with sounds of cars and bars before settling into a relaxing groove. Each subsequent song is a meditation in its own right, and each entices you to linger, but herein lies the problem: these songs feel like tasters and leave you wanting more. Even Hear My Heart – the longest track, at just over six minutes – feels incomplete.
Yes, The Night is tranquil and ‘spacy’; yes, singer Sarah Cracknell’s voice is easy on the ears as ever, and yes, music and vocals blend together nicely – but there isn’t enough here to really get your teeth into. The Night offers to “calm restless minds” and to give the listener respite from today’s fast-paced world, but as an album it feels disjointed – as if it can’t quite decide what it wants to be or which direction it wants to take.
words LYNDA NASH