by
Juno Daily
on 25.05.2025 at 06:07am.
Last edited: 23.05.2025 at 18:09pm.
First track made with Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands
Saint Etienne have announced that their 13th album will be their last.
But the alt-pop veterans have lined up an impressive array of friends and supporters to contribute to the album – titled International, co-produced with Tim Powell (formerly of Xenomania) and released on Heavenly Recordings on Friday September 5.
They’ve shared the first track from the LP, ‘Glad’, co-written and produced with Tom Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers and featuring Jez Williams from Doves on guitar.
“We asked Tom if he had any songs in progress that might suit Saint Etienne” said singer Sarah Cracknell, “and he sent a backing track that he’d been working on with Jez from Doves. We fell in love with it straight away and the top line melody and words for ‘Glad’ came easy.”
“The song is about taking pleasure in everyday things like nature and the outdoors when life is otherwise getting you down,” added Pete Wiggs.
The group insist they aren’t splitting up as such – they still remain the best of friends after 35 years recording together – but don’t feel like they want to go on forever and wanted to go out with a bang.
Among the guests collaborating on the album are Confidence Man (who they discovered were St Et superfans after they played together at Kite Festival in 2022), Erol Alkan, Vince Clarke, Nick Heyward and Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.
Saint Etienne are planning live dates for 2026.
