Although associated with Britpop, London trio Saint Etienne operated at a bookish, continental remove from their peers. Their second album is no different: Named after a Beach Boys album and structurally indebted to The Who, it samples from classic films and contrasts the rapidly changing Britain of the '50s with their '90s heyday. Despite this rich text, So Tough couldn’t have a lighter touch, flickering dreamily from Euro disco (“Conchita Martinez”) to chanson (“You’re in a Bad Way”), exotica ( “Calico”) to minimal techno (“Junk the Morgue”).