Saint Etienne

One of indie pop's most adventurous acts, Saint Etienne have built a discography marked by a curiosity about and a belief in the potential of pop music. Formed in 1988 by longtime friends Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, Saint Etienne released their first single, a dubby cover of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” featuring vocalist Moira Lambert, in 1990. The song became a hit in UK clubs, and their take on legendary twee group The Field Mice’s “Let’s Kiss and Make Up,” with a different vocalist, followed. The band’s third single, “Nothing Can Stop Us,” was fronted by the coolly detached Sarah Cracknell, who became their lead singer for their 1991 full-length debut, Foxbase Alpha. In the decades that followed, Saint Etienne traversed the expanse between the indie disco and the maximalist dance club with witty, catchy aplomb: 1993’s So Tough brought samples into the mix, 1998’s Good Humor stripped down the band’s sound, and 2005’s Tales From Turnpike House included input from uber-pop outfit Xenomania. After a seven-year hiatus, Saint Etienne returned in 2012 with the ruminative Words and Music by Saint Etienne, and since then the individual members have pursued solo projects while releasing the occasional album as a group.