Saint Etienne come to Manchester’s RNCM next week in support of their new album Home Counties which is released today.
Home Counties comprises sixteen new songs Saint Etienne have written about a day in the life of a Home Counties resident. Moving from the life of a teenage girl, through to what would have happened in David Bowie had remained David Jones of Bromley, stuck with a desk job; the story of the Enfield Poltergeist and talking of Essex’s Plotland settlers, Home Counties covers subjects far removed from your average album.
Saint Etienne understand that, if you squint, it could be almost utopian – here are the post-war new towns, much of the country’s modernist architecture, and the non-league football heroes of Sutton United, Leatherhead, Harlow Town. Three of the Beatles lived here. So did the Prodigy, the Zombies, Depeche Mode, Dr Feelgood and, naturally, Saint Etienne, small town groups looking to the capital but audibly inspired by municipal housing, box hedges and ring roads.
The album was produced by Shawn Lee of Young Gun Silver Fox, with support from Augustus (Kero Kero Bonito), Carwyn Ellis (Colorama, Edwyn Collins), Robin Bennett (The Dreaming Spires), Richard X (Girls On Top / Black Melody) and long-time collaborator Gerard Johnson (Denim, Yes). It was recorded in central London. Sarah, Bob and Pete commuted to the studio every day for six weeks.
Where and when do Saint Etienne perform in Manchester?
Saint Etienne are set to perform in Manchester on 11 June 2017 at the Royal Northern College of Music Concert Hall.
image of Saint Etienne courtesy Paul Kelly
