Saint Etienne - Method of Modern Love

Saint Etienne, the best pop-band in the known universe, have a new single! This one is really new, not like the strangely ineffective remix of "Burnt Out Car" from last year.

Click here for your listening pleasure!

"Method of Modern Love" (not a cover of the Hall & Oats song from 1984, although I wouldn´t have minded if it was) is a very, and I mean VERY poppy song, bursting at the seams with Richard X´s great production skills.
It´s sparkling, upbeat and extremely catchy. There is still that certain touch of melancholy sprinkled over the production which is so typical for Saint Etienne and which will probably prevent it from becoming a big hit.

Despite some very prominent DX-7 bells, "Method of Modern Love" is NOT another 80s pastiche, which is very nice for a change. The amazing multi-tracking of Sara´s voice is definitely the highlight here. It´s also nearly a minute too long for being a perfect pop-single, but the wonderful vocal trickery at the end finishes the song on a very exuberant note.


It seems that Saint Etienne are really trying to break into the charts with this track. So much though, that it lead them to a very confusing release strategy. Apparently the new British chart rules are demanding a single to be domestically released only before the rest of the world is allowed to buy the physical single.
This in the age of the download! Go figure! At least there are plans for an international release later on.


The single will probably promote the release of "London Conversations", which is at least the third or fourth Best-of-Saint-Etienne compilation in their 19-year carrier. Pitchfork just did a great and interesting Interview with the groups Bob Stanley.

Anniemalistic

Exactly three years ago I flew to Brighton to see Annie opening for St. Etienne. What a double whammy this should have been! Sadly Annie could not do the show because her equipment was delayed (Must have been British Airways!).
Her debut album "Annimal" was the best pop-record of this year and the simplicity of "Chewing Gum" still makes me all giddy.

She took her time to come up with a follow up and fellow Scandinavian Robyn is currently enjoying the international success that everybody predicted for Annie a few years ago-

Lots of "accidental" pre-release blunders made me aware of "Don´t stop" and it´s first single "Girlfriend" (or "Your girlfriend hates me", or the final "I know UR girlfriend hates me"). Leaked and pulled videos, contradicting information which single will be released, backing vocals by Girls Aloud which were then erased and so on. All this stuff record companies think is necessary to "really make the product".

So this is the Richard X produced first single and you´ll instantly see and hear that Annie sits a bit between the chairs with this one.

Musically its very close to "Chewing Gum". It´s a catchy, throw-away POP-song which should do well on the radio.
Visually Annie seems to go for a clean-cut, healthy, no-bullshit-look.
There is not much of a surprise here and I am missing a bit of the special "zing" that made Annie stand above the rest. After all Annie knows that ANNIE is not about the voice. It´s the whole package!
But hey, I am just a spoilt consumer! My attempts to do "clever-pop" died multiple, unspectacular deaths.