Sound of Water

After the earthy, live-in-the-studio Good Humor, Saint Etienne re-embraced their experimental side, calling on German electronica trio To Rococo Rot, and Sean O’Hagan of The High Llamas, to support them through Sound Of Water. These collaborations seemed to let the three members of Saint Etienne breathe out – there’s something relaxed, becalmed, about much of Sound Of Water. To Rococo Rot bring their subtle patchworks of rhythm and glitchy texture to Saint Etienne’s pop songs, which are then swaddled in O’Hagan’s rich string arrangements – the end result is St Et’s finest album, from the haunted, happy-sad ballad, “Just A Little Overcome,” to the disco-folk trilogy that makes up “How We Used To Live.”