ALBUM REVIEW: Saint Etienne – International

Named after a French football team, Saint Etienne have been the darlings of indie-pop, dance, and kitchen-sink storytelling since the 1990s. Few bands have captured everyday life with such charm, always anchoring their songs in a 1960s-tinged nostalgia.

With albums like Foxbase Alpha and Good Humor, and euphoric classics such as “Nothing Can Stop Us,” “Who Do You Think You Are?” and their definitive cover of “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” Saint Etienne stole hearts with music that made the mundane magical.

Now, September 2025 sees Bob Stanley, Sarah Cracknell and Pete Wiggs bowing out with their thirteenth and final album, International. After more than 30 years together, the trio remain firm friends, with Sarah Cracknell explaining: “We all have different reasons for why it’s time to say goodbye, but for me, I always wanted to finish on a high.”

And they have. International plays like a farewell party packed with friends and kindred spirits, each track shaped by a dazzling list of collaborators including Vince Clarke (Yazoo, Erasure, Depeche Mode), Nick Heyward, The Chemical Brothers, Doves, Orbital, Xenomania, Confidence Man and Erol Alkan. It’s less a goodbye and more a communal celebration of everything Saint Etienne have ever been.

Opener “Glad”, co-written and produced by Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers with Jez Williams of Doves on guitar, is classic Saint Etienne: a euphoric dance groove underpinned by bittersweet melancholy. It feels like a distillation of the band’s entire career. “The Go-Betweens”, featuring Nick Heyward, is a playful slice of synth-pop nostalgia, its male/female harmonies and bleeping electronic textures recalling both Vangelis soundscapes and 80s computer games — a NeverEnding Story for the modern age.

Elsewhere, “Sweet Melody” drapes Sarah Cracknell’s velvety vocals over 60s-style orchestration, a spy-theme pastiche that doubles as a love letter to London, Paris and New York. “Fade” recalls the trip-hop grandeur of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy, all strings, piano, and spoken-word delivery — dreamy, poignant, cinematic. It’s proof that Saint Etienne could have crafted a Bond theme with ease.

The collaborative spirit runs through every corner of the record. “Brand New Me”, featuring Confidence Man, fuses brassy pop exuberance with a 90s trip-hop sensibility. “Take Me To The Pilot”, with Paul Hartnoll of Orbital, channels Faithless’ Insomnia — pure 90s clubland euphoria, glowsticks in hand. And closer “The Last Time” feels like the perfect curtain call, a reflective bow on more than three decades of reinvention.

Saint Etienne have always inhabited a world slightly outside of time — where retro-futurist pop, clubland escapism and bittersweet romance blur together. International embraces that world one final time, but with a warmth that comes from throwing the doors open and inviting everyone in.

They may be calling it a day, but as this collaborative, celebratory farewell shows, their legacy of widescreen nostalgia and indie-dance alchemy will live on forever.