Tiger Bay

by

Saint Etienne

Edit

Of the five Saint Etienne records released in the U.S., "Tiger Bay" has to be as close to the best work this British outfit ever produced. While many fans are partial to "Fox Base Alpha" or "Good Humor," this is the CD which best combines the band's ethereal instrumental tracks with some of the most maturely crafted pop songs Cracknell/Stanley/Wiggs have created in their 10+ years together. Ironically, the band took a few years off after recording this CD and it was their final release under the American Warner Bros. label. The track list also does not feature a single song written by all three of the bandmates together. Despite this record more or less marking the end of the "early" Saint Etienne era, the individual songs have a maturity to them which suggest that this is about the best Saint Etienne could do during their first few years together. The record features perennial fan favorite "Like A Motorway," along with two of their other big British hits, "I Was Born On Christmas Day" and "Hug My Soul." Their are also some beautiful ballads written by vocalist Sarah Cracknell, including "Former Lover" and "Marble Lions" which stand alongside some of her best work as a solo artist. I think it's an essential part of any fan's Saint Etienne collection (if you have the UK edition with the bonus B-side tracks, it's a plus).

If you're in the mood for some fey pop, Tiger Bay is an enjoyable diversion. I played it a lot when I first got it because it sounded so contemporary, but after several listens the fragmentary nature of the songs became frustrating and tedious. Saint Etienne have always seemed to merely nibble at the idea of a fully-fledged pop song, so most of their work sounds unfinished or half-realised. When they actually hit upon a chorus they rarely manage to flesh it out with a correspondingly strong verse and bridge. Their music can often be catchy, but their samples and ironic quotes usually don't add up to much.