Finisterre (Saint Etienne)

Finisterre
Studio album by Saint Etienne
Released 30 September 2002
Recorded 2002
Genre Ambient house, techno, alternative rock, electronica
Length 46:56
Label Mantra Records
Producer Saint Etienne, Mr Joshua, Ian Catt
Professional reviews

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Saint Etienne chronology
Asleep at the Wheels of Steel
(2002)		 Finisterre
(2002)		 Travel Edition 1990-2005
(2005)
Singles from Finisterre
  1. "Action"
    Released: July 2002 (2002-07)
  2. "Shower Scene"
    Released: 2002 (2002)
  3. "Soft Like Me"
    Released: 2003 (2003)

Finisterre is an album by the British pop band Saint Etienne. It was released by Mantra Records in 2002; and as a deluxe edition by Heavenly Records in 2010.

Contents

Commentary

Finisterre was Saint Etienne's sixth proper album on world wide release after the sparse instrumentation on Sound of Water and pre-empts the warmer tones on their next album, Tales from Turnpike House. The album returned to the inclusion of vocal interludes between songs as last heard on their album "So Tough" and a more angular, electronic sound, particularly on tracks such as "Action," "Shower Scene," and "New Thing". "Language Lab," "Summerisle," and "Stop and Think It Over" recall the ambient style of the previous three albums.

The vocal interludes were supplied by Michael Jayston's narration as featured in the film released to accompany the album, also called "Finisterre". The film was directed by Paul Kelly and Kieran Evans and was born out of visuals used to accompany certain tracks from the album shown during their live shows. The film debuted at a sold-out show in October 2002 at the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank, and was re-released to select screens in 2005. It is currently available on DVD. The album sleeve features a photograph of the east London tower block Ronan Point shortly after it collapsed in 1968 with the loss of 4 lives.

A October 2002 review of the album by Pitchfork Media gave the album 7.6 out of 10. Nitsuh Abebe wrote "the big comeback on Finisterre's part is that they're tugging those strings again, confidently.", highlighting "B92", "Shower Scene" as the strongest tracks. However, the review criticised "Action" and "New Thing" as "just begging for the bigger kick drums that would turn them into flat-out stompers."[4]

Track listing

CD: Mantra / MNTCD 1033 (2002)

Original Release
No. Title Length
1. "Action"   4:45
2. "Amateur"   3:39
3. "Language Lab"   3:13
4. "Soft Like Me"   4:24
5. "Summerisle"   3:08
6. "Stop and Think It Over"   3:57
7. "Shower Scene"   4:26
8. "The Way We Live Now"   4:29
9. "New Thing"   4:11
10. "B92"   3:23
11. "The More You Know"   3:32
12. "Finisterre"   4:33

CD: Heavenly / HVNLP74CDDE (Deluxe Edition, 2010)

Disk One
No. Title Length
1. "Action"   4:45
2. "Amateur"   3:39
3. "Language Lab"   3:13
4. "Soft like Me"   4:24
5. "Summerisle"   3:08
6. "Stop and Think It Over"   3:57
7. "Shower Scene"   4:26
8. "The Way We Live Now"   4:29
9. "New Thing"   4:11
10. "B92"   3:23
11. "The More You Know"   3:32
12. "Finisterre"   4:33
Disc Two
No. Title Length
1. "Primrose Hill"   2:14
2. "Anderson Unbound"   3:45
3. "Seven Summers"   5:05
4. "Gimp Crisis"   3:27
5. "Abby I Hardly Knew You"   3:22
6. "So Mystified"   3:00
7. "White Dress"   2:16
8. "Time and Tide"   4:01
9. "Shock Corridor"   3:24
10. "Stop and Think It Over (Kid Loco Mix)"   3:33
11. "Mountain Rain"   3:50
12. "Queen of Polythene"   3:09
13. "Ballade de Saint Etienne"   3:55
14. "Stevie"   3:03
15. "Got It Together Again"   2:30
16. "Fascination"   3:51
17. "There There My Brigadier"   3:30

Previously unreleased tracks are "So Mystified," "White Rain," "Stop and Think It Over (Kid Loco Mix)," and "There There My Brigadier."

B-sides

from "Action"
from "Soft Like Me" / "Shower Scene"

References

  1. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Review: Finisterre - Saint Etienne". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r604968/review. Retrieved 5 June 2010. 
  2. ^ Abebe, Nitsuh. "Review: Saint Etienne - Tiger Bay / Finisterre (Mantra / Beggars; 2002)". © 2010 Pitchfork Media Inc.. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6974-finisterre/. Retrieved 5 June 2010. 
  3. ^ Hogan, Marc. "Review: Saint Etienne - Tiger Bay / Finisterre (Heavenly; 2010)". © 2010 Pitchfork Media Inc.. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14255-tiger-bay-finisterre/. Retrieved 5 June 2010. 
  4. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6974-finisterre/
Saint Etienne
Studio albums
Compilations
Other releases
Singles
"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" • "Kiss and Make Up" • "Nothing Can Stop Us" • "Join Our Club" • "Avenue" • "You're in a Bad Way" • "Hobart Paving" • "Xmas 93" • "Pale Movie" • "Like a Motorway" • "Hug My Soul" • "He's on the Phone" • "Sylvie" • "The Bad Photographer" • "Lose That Girl" • "Lover Plays the Bass" • "How We Used to Live" • "Heart Failed (In the Back of a Taxi)" • "Boy is Crying" • "Action" • "Shower Scene" • "Soft Like Me" • "Side Streets" • "A Good Thing" • "Stars Above Us" • "Burnt Out Car" • "Method of Modern Love"
Films
Finisterre • What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? • This is Tomorrow
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