Reviews (page 3 of 7)
I really enjoyed this and the rating under 3 is not right.
I thought this album was really cool overall. Nice vibes with a lot of pleasant female vocals to go with it 4/5
I’ve always loved this album - touches a rich nostalgic nerve.
Their cover of “Only Love Will Break Your Heart” is the standout for how well it reconfigures the song to make it both eminently more danceable and even sadder, but the rest of the album is also very good, blending a lot of different sounds together to create a pop record that still feels pretty singular.
I like it! Its super fun and different. Some of the samples are a little fun and silly but I enjoyed it a lot.
Groundbreaking dance music. Heavy nostalgia for the raves I went to in my terrible tiny town in the 90s. The original release was 45 minutes. The US release is almost an hour. An hour is too much. I danced with my coffee. Really torn between 3 and 4 stars
I'll have to listen to it again. Loved the first song. Other songs are requiring more focus, which I didn't have yesterday
Chill, atmospheric, and fun, though a bit repetitive in places. 3.5 rounded up.
Un album électro bien incarné, qui semble intemporel malgré qu'il date d'il y a 30 ans. La chanteuse a une voix magnifique.
Very trippy electronic, with a hint of folky fun.
Chill easy house music. Faded into the background for me but a pleasant listen
Fun and good
very enjoyable album 3.8
Groovy, fun record that integrates many samples throughout. Electronic feel, somewhat reminiscent of Wax Tailor. Very entertaining.
Definitely dig the alt-dance trappings of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", sounds like a very European take on the song. I'm also a fan of the downtempo nature of songs like Carnt Sleep. Songs like "Wilson" are completely throwaway for me though, it's a bit silly with the samples. 3.5 to 4.
good music for the genre
A vibe, some clever sampling.
Interesting
The 'radio selector' album is bit of a risk - if it comes off it sounds varied and rich, if not an incoherent mess. On the whole this is the former, from French sports announcements to movie dialogue and fake TV themes, as well as a fistful of great tracks. Only Love Can Break Your Heart and Nothing Can Stop Us are ageless and it's a quintessentially early nineties time capsule.
Ох как трип хопом британским потянуло... Стильно блин!
Tykkäsin tästä mutta en oikein osaa sanoa miksi! Jotenkin helppoa kuunneltavaa 4/5
Hieno levy ja kiva ysäritunnelma! Vähän sen tyylistä, mitä itse tekisin, jos osaisin.
Dug it. Reminded me of Debbie Harry/Blondie but more mellow
Pleasant surprise--really enjoyed
I enjoyed this more than I thought it would. It hit the right notes and made for a pretty dreamy, relaxing listening experience. In terms of quality more of a 3.5 rounded up. But that's good enough.
Wonderful
Is this the sister album to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot? Having missed a lot of early UK electronica, I didn't really know what to expect here. It's quite lush and beautiful. There are some swelling jams here like on Like The Swallow or Stoned To Say The Least. The in-between tracks are a lot of fun as well, and provide a good breath in between the more expansive tracks. I found myself involuntarily bobbing my head to Nothing Can Stop Us. I can’t decide if I love or hate that the biggest song on the album is a Young cover. What follows is, in my opinion, better as a whole album, but the track works well enough as an opener.
This ethereal blend of electronic instrumentation and pop melodies evokes the carefree spirit of a perfect spring day or the sun-kissed liberation of the summer’s open road.
很神奇的体验，90年代的电子音乐又新又老的感觉，还有民谣的味道，主唱声音好好听喔
Heel relaxed album. Beetje drum'n'bass maar dan echt rustig. Lekker man!
Classic fresh funky dance music perfect for a summer day. Basslines and drums that sound so so good and you can sink deep into. A winner for sure. Fave track: Nothing Can Stop Us
Sweet
71/100
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Only love can break your heart, Wilson, Carnt sleep, Nothing can stop us
Like their later stuff better but very good
Good stuff
Charming and winsome, fun and vibe-y, the world could do with more records in this vein. Neil cover is tops, "People Get Real" also lovely, and "Nothing Can Stop Us" awfully engaging. with plenty of other interesting bits.
Takes me right back...............
Pretty good bit of early electronic I'd not encountered before, some tracks I'll revisit but some of the longer ones don't really hold up.
Really enjoyed
Chill vibes. Enjoyed this album on a summer morning
I liked this a lot. I thought I knew their work but this album surprised me plenty. They were always lumped in with Britpop artists on compilations and I never understood how what I considered to be pop songs sat alongside what I now realise were also pop songs. I’ll listen again, for sure.
Overall I really liked it, although it did become a bit stale at parts, but I got the vibe checks, so I'm rating this high.
Know and like the first song (track 2). Track 3 sounds like something you'd hear repeating in your head as you're dying. Otherwise lovely and dreamy with some weirdness in between.
A very consistent pop/house record. I enjoyed it a good bit. What holds it back is that there isn't no song that I really want to come back to.
Кайфовый альбом с интересной идеей и историей создания Некоторые вещи супер экспериментальны, поэтому 4
очень кайфово работать алкоальбом: ирландский кофе
Пункт 0: я по названию группы долго был уверен в том, что они - французы (да, во Франции есть город с таким названием). Но нет, бритиши... Пункт 1: это что за коллекция семплов такая интересная))) умело они обращаются, без вопросов. Хороший плейлист для чего-то монотонного. Пункт 2: Only Love Can Break Your Heart - кавер на Нила Янга (!) и самый успешный трек с альбома (!!!). Послушал оригинал - кавер больше зашёл. А ещё есть какие-то вайбы группы Комбинация, не знаю почему... прям вот такая попса из 90х, это почему-то сразу чувствуется. Хорошее, мне понравилось)
семплы бога, да и в целом кайфанул жуть
Quality edm indie sniza
Love this, perfect electro pop vibe but much more interesting
A great record to enjoy good weather too. The beil. Young Cover is a huge hit. I loved it a lot!
Good mix of house, ambient, 60s pop, and a handful of other electronic genres. Plus it leads off with a Neil Young cover. What's not to like?
Question: Is this sixties lounge/pop revival or nineties house? Answer: Yes. I had to listen to this album twice before I decided if I liked it. I do like it but its hard to decide if its a three or a four bagger.
Seems like the birth of chillhop, lo-fi or synth pop in the best sense.
I thought this was quite a good album! A lot of interesting and quirky ambient electronic music, and some really interesting use of samples. I don't feel like it was all my thing, but I may come back to listen to it again sometime in the future. Favourite: Stoned to Say the Least
This is one I never would have listened to without this list. But it’s quite cool! Especially the more 60s-infused stuff
This one really grew on me, enjoyed it
Saint Eteinne are ethereal, not my favourite descriptor of music but they do ethereal in a way I can get down with: drum n bass (thick, funky bass lines and heavy drums), baroque touches (peak the strings all around or the choral soundscape of ‘Stoned to Say the Least’), spoken word samples and an elegant chanteuse. Very stylish record, but I wish it were a more songful and substantial one too.
Charming and delightful throughout, and an easy pleasure to listen to. The NY cover is as good as covers get – odd treatment plays utterly refreshing and is interesting in its own right, especially the breakdowns in latter part of song.
It’s so 90’s
Laidback dance music. Enough variation. It's not all about the groove, it's mainly proper songs. Production is a little primitive. Some of the s-sounds are like nails on chalkboard. With contemporary production, this could probably be popular in the indie scene if it was released now. Favorite song: like the swallow.
I'm not sure how to catalog this. It's both soothing and catchy. I'll def add it to my regular listening. Musically i really dig it. Vocally incredibly smooth. Sexy music.
Nice and sweet - even funny at times - kind of electronic ambient with a bit of class and some good pop writing. An interesting record
Great trip-hop / poppy debut album. Really enjoyed it.
Fy så tajt! visste att ajg skulle älska detta när jag väl gav det 1 chans.
I have thus one on vinyl. I don't love it as much as I used to do. Nothing can Stop us is ace. The retro feel stop it aging. Is is twee at times by the melancholy balances it out. Though it was going to be a 3 but I've fallen in love with it again. 4.
Swwwwaaaggboss
Me gustó bastante. La combinación del house con influencias del pop retro resulta tanto etérea como fácilmente consumible. Un disco conciliador entre los sonidos mainstream de épocas pasadas y la integración de los sonidos populares en la EDM noventera del rave. Tiene un buen balance entre las composiciones minimalistas y algunas más robustas con vocales incluso. Disfruté sobre todo la ondita techno-house de Stoned to say the Least y la vibra etérea de cualquier pop indie posterior a los 2000 meets 80s Madonna en Girl VII. Mood: Un día de buen humor y parsimonia.
Aw yeah, this is my jam. The vibes of this really take me back. Big nostalgia feels with this one. And it's so great to finally know who did that song I've heard a billion times and stuck in my brains but I never knew who it was (Only Love Can Break Your Heart)
I really liked this. Definitely a group I've never even heard of before, and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Slow and easy listen, but never feels too simplistic. Good stuff
This was nice to listen to. Good accompaniment for working.
A nice mellow groove.
This was an enjoyable listen - reminding me of something I’d hear in a cool lounge… nice dance vibe with a retro feeling that I quite liked. Great to have on while I went about my routine!
Interesante. Chill.
Overall 7/10 Only Love Can Break Your Heart 10/10
ok
This was pretty interesting. Something I hadn't heard before.
Alternative dancetrip hop. Francesa. Está chulo.
Such a nice downtempo electro groove. Faves: Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Spring
Sampled music, only knew 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' but theres some good other songs here. Liked.
Pleasant pop
Ekta Saint Etienne. Pínu skrýtin en með skemmtilegt flæði.
I really liked this album and was surprised to find that I enjoy it as much as I did as it is quite different from the music I tend to listen to. I think that the steady bass, drum and piano beats heard in most of the tracks of this album is what does it for me. The cover of Only Love Can Break Your Heart especially showcases this.
rimelig fedt
First 4 songs have a lot of talking, but the rest of the album is excellent electronica.
Enjoy
Lo-fi-ish but from an earlier time.
For some reason I thought Saint Etienne were Belle & Sebastien-adjacent twee guitar pop, so I was quite surprised to hear a downtempo electro album. Yeah, I can get on with this. Probably would have enjoyed discovering this in the early 2000s quite a lot. Fave track - "Stoned to Say the Least", perhaps. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a tune too, and I think the only track I'd heard before...
very good trip hop album, good melodies, interesting vibe, nice vocal, it reminds me of other good bands of this genre
Groovy stuff
Superb
I liked this album its smooth and beautifully produced. The dance tracks are infectious and the slower tracks are compelling. 3.75 🌟
Muito bom!
It's an easy listen nit to bad
Ret fint pop album med lækker lyd. Kan dog gort tendere til kedeligt. Men kunne måske vokse på en
Smooth indie pop, nice to listen
I've heard the name Saint Etienne, but I had to look it up to see if it was a single person or a band. I enjoyed the recommendation. The album sounded different than stuff I would normally listen to, but with some overlap to music that I choose to listen to. "People Get Real" and "London Belongs to Me" were the tracks that stood out most as something I would listen to again. Perhaps the difficulty in trying to decide if I would play this album again is a sign that I should bump this album up above a simple "it was okay." There wasn't anything that I wanted to skip, and I am a little curious if there is anything more I might discover on a second listen.
Great, but I feel like I'm too stupid to be able to tell what "good" is. One minute felt like elevator music and the next felt like the ancestor to the Jet Set Radio soundtrack.
Very interesting album, very fun and enjoyable to listen to. Now what I imagined it would sound like looking at the Album cover
7/10 fav track: Only love can break your heart
Quite enjoyed the relaxed vibe
really very good
This is a great album, i could see me playing it in the background while cleaning or painting or something, very soothing, very catchy. I recalled a couple of the songs and loved the overall sound of the album
wikipedia said "trip-hop" and that was correct
Don’t know what genre it is, but it’s so good.
I listened to this years ago and found it disappointing and boring. Now I like it.
Solid European vibes. Easy to work to. Interesting vocal choices, intriguing decisions on the clips used between songs.
Fantastic rainy day album. Only love can break your heart. I feel that. Good stuff, getting added to my listening rotation for sure. Probably wouldn't have ever found it without this. GIVE ME MORE FLUTE, ya know?
Surprisingly good, at the end it started faltering but it had a really interesting sound and I enjoyed it
Me gustó, muy variadito y un mood como alegre (?) me dieron ganas de bailar y así.
I loved this album especially ‘would you like some sweets willy’ but it’s not a 5
Lovely stuff 👌
Vibessss
Fun listen.
Trip-hop
Calming listen
Euphoric french house/downtempo electronic. Deep grooves that never overstay their welcome and a siren of a singer. Transcendent.
Usually, this is kind of my thing, but this felt a bit bland and dated. Nothing outstanding, but listenable.
Nothing special. A few decent beats here and there, but a lot of it sounds the same. It’s easy to drift in and out of this one. When an album struggles to keep attention, it can’t get more than a 3/5
Listenable and vaguely enjoyable it passed me by without leaving a great impression. Apart from the Neil Young cover, which is a highlight.
I wasn't sure at first which was this was going to go for me, but I like it.
Tough one to rate. While it wasn't anything that really interested me, it wasn't something that offended either. It kept my head bopping most of the time, but I just never found myself really caring about anything that was going on. Great music if you just want to dance I guess.
60s pop with a hint of house. It’s not essential, but it’s fine.
A good first album. I can see how Saint Etienne fits into 90s British club and pop music.
Es bastante tranquilo, atmosférico y lo siento más francés que inglés
Decent enough and ‘nothing can stop us’ comes out as something of a highlight but I can’t say that this is a pinnacle of something. Seems to take influences from trip hop, chillout and put more of an indie rock twist on it. All pleasant but nothing that makes me want to grab it again particularly. Can’t seem to make up its mind about having more textured songs like ‘like the swallow’ or the cleaner approach of ‘only love can break your heart’ so it doesn’t necessarily do either. Maybe it’s a grower though and would be happy enough to relisten.
Dreamy and ethereal. Very relaxing. 3.5/5
This album does have some interesting moments, but mostly I found this to be pretty uninspiring. I think for me it kinda skates by on the fact that I like 90s electronic stuff, but this is hardly even electronic so I was a little disappointed by that. It was still kinda cool, but I don’t think I’ll remember it at all when I wake up tomorrow. Favorites: Carnt Sleep, Nothing Can Stop Us, Kiss and Make Up
That was good enough and I'm going to check and see if there's any other albums by them.
Acceptable background music. Sounded like the 5th Element soundtrack, but less interesting.
late 70’s effort, long spoke word segments cut into interesting decade music
Yes I would like some sweets. This is a perfect example of when someone gets a new effects rack and feels like they need to use every function
Alpha tripping through a paper heart.
I really fuck with this. Lowkey Sunday morning vibes, chic dinner party on a roof. Fav song: Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Spring
This is the type of album you hear when you go to a cafe with a DJ playing a set at 10am
A bit Cocteau Twins, a bit Beach House and a bit Air. Enjoyable enough but I think I need another listen.
Fox Base Alpha is Saint Etienne’s dreamy slice of early ’90s English pop—so atmospheric and slightly uncanny it practically begs to wander into the soundtrack of a David Lynch movie.
Strange. I wasn't feeling it at first but "Carnt Sleep" and "Spring" definitely gripped me in a good way. Definitely need to revisit this album, but autoplay has given me all manner of gems from Saint Etienne. I'm just going to list them here for my own convenience: - 52 pilot - The Glad EP - He's on the Phone - Burnt out Car
Yeah nothing interesting here. I hardly remember it and only listened yesterday. Lots of sampled dialog I guess from movies. It’s fine
Don't really have much commentary on this one...
The Only Love Can Break Your Heart cover is great. Better than the original in my opinion. But there's not much else on here to excite me.
Top songs: Carnt sleep and spring. I feel like this whole album is made for dance and JUST to dance since it’s mostly repetitive lyrics and some what a vibe
в начале школьный триггер écoutez la radio française chaque jour а так скучновато ну в треках spring и noting can stop us есть какой-то вайбик, но не сильный, не дожали как будто
Um… I really wanted to like this. It’s sort of in the pocket for me. But… it was… tedious. I alternated between being into it and being annoyed and ready for it to be over. Not a good look. So it gets a 3. It ended well. 3 Boolean: yes?
I am a simple man that is always pleased by trip-hop, especially when it opens with a song about French football.
French
Early 90’s French slow techno vibe
Ангельски круто Есть хиты Звучит целостно и приятно Такое переслушал бы во время работы 3.3
Fav song: Spring
Good background music.
Love the production on this one. You can hear the influence this album had on the music that came after it in the same dream-pop scene. Equally fun, atmospheric and depressing
A few good songs, but mostly of little note
It was alright. It felt more modern than the year it was released.
I can hear you Clem Fandango. Otherwise a bit non-descript, but chill
A good upbeat driving album.
Maybe I'm just in a good mood but all the albums I've rated today have been good. A lot of the albums I enjoy now feel like they could be the grandchildren of this album. Was gonna give it 4/5 but the end got a little weird so 3/5
It was ok, she has a nice voice and the songs weren’t bad, but didn’t blow me away, was quite long too
Really nice dance pop and great debut
Perfectly pleasant background music for browsing pants in H&M.
I haven’t heard this before, but the local college station played a number of songs off this album when i was in middle school and high school. The instrumental tracks have a uptempo but calm feel to them which i think was popular in clubs at the time but in retrospect belong in one of those pure moods compilations they advertised on unpopular cable channels in the 90s. The tracks with vocals however have more of a dreampop feel to them which is really enjoyable. Though some can get into that pure moods category. They use a lot of samples from 60s lounge pop songs that I recognize to pretty good effect which is nice. It’s a mixed bag but it ain’t bad (I like that pure moods shit now and then)
Ok
Was nice but a little too ambient for me to really like it.
Yet another album that's _fine_. It's not bad, not good, just is. This is my 44th album to rank. It will be the 38th that is ranked two or three. 1001 albums you must have in the background and forget the second you stop listening.
Relatively high 2.5, honestly. I like Sarah Cracknell's voice a good bit, and most of these songs have pretty strong melodies. Quite a few of them meander, and ultimately, the super clubby vibe is just not my thing, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and I think I could potentially dig it more with repeat listenings. 2.5/5
Favorite Song: Spring
frans o nvm dit is wel een vibe
I've stopped thinking of this project as "Albums to hear before I die" and more "Here are some random albums; do you personally like them?". It makes it so much easier to score. This is weirdly fresh in a way that only 90s house and electronica can achieve. Nothing life changing, but it sure makes doing the housework on a sunny Saturday afternoon more enjoyable. 3
Gear: Dunu SA6 Artwork: 👩🏼✋🅰️ Production: 😌👂🧈 Music: 🏝️⌛🥱 Rating: 📠📠📠/5
Wonderul bass playing throughout.
3.2 Starts off well, second track I recognised and enjoyed. Some other good moments in there, quite enjoyed the longer tracks, but it's hampered by a few extremely mediocre tracks (eg she's the one). It's an okay outing, can't say I understand the reason for it's inclusion but maybe we needed a few non UK/US bands (I'm assuming they're french, although the song listing places in London suggests otherwise...)
6/10
You may want to be Stoned to Say the Least when you listen to this album.
Pleasant listening.
I liked- some felt very contemporary and some felt very early 90s/groove is in the heart-style stuff
I liked the tracks with vocals and that was enough for me to get past the dance music elements.
Not my thing.
Das britische Trio Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs und – zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch nicht vollständig integriert – Sarah Cracknell nahm sein Debütalbum in den Cat Music Studios in London und Mitcham auf und veröffentlichte es im September 1991 über das Londoner Indie-Label Heavenly, das den Vertrieb über Creation Records abwickelte. Stilistisch bewegt sich Foxbase Alpha im Schnittfeld aus House-Club-Kultur, Sixties-Girl-Group-Pop und samplelastiger Collagearbeit; das eigene Vorbild OMD mit Dazzle Ships ist hörbar, wird aber konsequent in etwas Eigenständiges überführt. Genre-Etiketten greifen hier grundsätzlich zu kurz. Das Album lebt von seiner Unentschlossenheit als Qualitätsmerkmal: Kurze Filmsamples und Zwischenstücke unterbrechen die eigentlichen Tracks und geben dem Ganzen den Charakter einer durchkomponierten Seite statt einer schlichten Song-Sammlung. Auffälligster Einzelmoment ist das verlangsamt-pianistische House-Cover von Neil Youngs „Only Love Can Break Your Heart", das Moira Lambert singt – Cracknell war bei der Aufnahme noch nicht festes Mitglied. Dass diese Besetzungslücke klanglich nahezu spurlos bleibt, sagt einiges über die Stärke der Produktionsidee. „Nothing Can Stop Us" und „This Is Radio Etienne" – Letzteres mit gesampletem Jingle von Radio France Inter – zeigen, wie Saint Etienne Pop als Zitat und Kommentar zugleich begreifen. Das Album wurde 1992 für den ersten Mercury Prize nominiert und klingt bis heute nicht nach Dokument einer Ära, sondern nach einer Haltung, die sich Zeit lässt. Foxbase Alpha ist ein Debüt, das seine eigene Tentativität in Programm verwandelt – und dabei selten falsch liegt.
Gostei muito desse álbum. Um Dream pop com elementos eletrônicos interessantes. CVJ Aria.
Not exactly what the doctor ordered, but interesting
I quite liked this although it is not really my scene. I LOVE their Tales From Turnpike House album although unsurprisingly it is not on this list, but I am sharing this with you because I like you.
Pleasant background music.
Pretty decent as background noise for your office
For some reason, I was expecting this to be even more electronic than it actually was. It still sounded somewhat ahead of its time, recalling later female-fronted indie pop bands, while at the same time being very in their moment with the early Downtempo sound. I liked it, but not a lot. It could have been a bit shorter. Key tracks: Only Love Can Break Your Heart Nothing Can Stop Us London Belongs to Me
нормик, но японцы добавили б вайба
Thoughts before listening: In my mind this is similar to Air' Moon Safari, but I am also very surprised to see that this album came out in 1991. This feels like an early 2000s album to me. So where as I thought this would be jazzy, spacey, loungey electronic music, I really have no idea this could possibly sound like. Review: So while this album did come out 7 or 8 years before Moon Safari, I wasn't THAT far off base to claim they have a similar sound, with both groups making retro-inspired electronic music. The main difference is that Saint Etienne seemingly has much more of a hushed vocal R&B influence (I am hearing similarities with a song like "Thats the Way Love Goes") as well as some weird hip hop hype man elements than anything I have heard from Air. This is not the type of music I typically listen to, but its setting a pleasant enough vibe that I can dig. "Only Love Will Break Your Heart" is a surprisingly effective Neil Young cover, and some songs like "Nothing Can Stop Us" ramp up the tempo which is nice when most of the album is working as effective background music for me. 3-stars
Adequate background music.
Good
3.25
Another perfectly acceptable album.
It was unremarkable, but not with the negative connotation of the word. It just seemed ordinary, but not necessarily bad.
Bra!
Not too much to say on this one. Its solid. Nothing to be mad at. Nothing that really gets me going either way. Just some good spacy indie or rock type stuff. Its should be something im closer to hate on but it does a good job not being too repetitive or too ethereal. It has some choruses and some structure so its easier for me to latch on to it. My standout are only love can break your heart and nothing can stop us. Both good enough to get a save. And the rest are also fine. Couldn't tell you the name of it but one song was exactly what I was prasing the record for before. Repetitive like crazy. Those songs can suck it but I only remember one getting to that point. Decent little record and one that I wouldn't expect to be so high on
I kind of liked this smooth, dreamy style of music, but it does get old after awhile.
Some of the songs were pretty good
suprisingly eerie ans interesting
It was ok. nothing really stood out to me.
I was a little worried when the alblum started in French. It was easy listening and good background musoc.
7/10 - Enjoyable album, not all great tunes though and some weird stuff, but prefer the wacky riffs to a bland rock album any day
Background music
Here's an album that I don't have much to say about. It's an early 90s UK dance album of some kind. You know what that means? I'm not huge on it. Foxbase Alpha definitely isn't a bad album, but it just kind of exists. It's harmless though. Saint Etienne are another one of those music acts whose most famous song is a cover, which somehow is enough to get the album on a list like this. As far as that cover goes, I guess their take on Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is different enough and good enough to warrant listening to it on its own, though I do prefer Neil's original version myself. None of the album's other songs are bad, but they don't excite me. Some of them are a bit too long though. "Stoned to Say the Least" in particular is a few too minutes longer than I'd like. The album's got some interludes, I guess? The singing is alright. The energy is there for much of the album. I'm really trying, guys. I'm over 900 albums into this, okay? It gets hard to say unique things about every album this far into the thing. Foxbase Alpha is alright, but not an album that really feels like a must-listen. It's not bad though. 3/5.
This is a good album. It sounds like many things. Sounds like early trip hop before it was a thing. Sounds like downtempo. It might be a little house. The thing is that it all works on this album. I’m glad I heard this album.
gave this a 3.4/5
Not the worst electronic music from the 90s. It’s like British vogue music at times.
Some really catchy songs and a bunch of strange instrumental breaks. Didn't really know what to make of it. Liked listening to parts, zoned out during most.
Very interesting
Not too bad. Nothing I would listen to on the reg. I liked that Neil Young cover.
3.5
Mediocre
Album No. 0179 on my list. I had never heard of this before and I had no idea about what I was getting into here. I immediately found the cover to be one of the coolest I’ve ever seen though. “Foxbase Alpha” by Saint Etienne is a cool album blending electronic music with other genres. The sound is pretty cool and I love the use of samples throughout the record. The songs themselves are not all that catchy though, and at least some were a bit long for my taste. Very danceable though, which is not for me necessarily but may be appreciated by others. I’ll add the following songs to my playlist: “This Is Radio Etienne” (even though it’s just the intro, but I kinda liked it), “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”, “Spring”, and “Kiss And Make Up”. I’ll give the whole thing three stars for now, even though I might actually change my rating later, because I still feel there’s some potential for greatness in this. 3/5 stars.
Pleasant enough and clearly constructed with care. The recording was pretty good, too. I enjoyed it in the background, a few times even! But I didn't find the music particularly captivating, and I can't remember the name or even the melody of a single song. Three stars.
Fine, just a little boring
Never heard of this band, pretty chill stuff, probably best suited for background music
For 1991, this is actually such a weird standout record. This is the kind of electronically driven record that you'd hear more of coming around the mid 90s with how liberal they are with sample usage, the downtempo beats and the production choices present here. It has some lesser moments, but overall it's pretty damn solid and unique.
'stoned to say the least' is a great time. i did save a few songs off of this but i also can't remember anything about this and i listened to it 12 hours ago
5/10, it was very good but it was dance music
Interesting!! I expected more though
Totally unaware of this album or artist. It was fine. Toward the middle everything just started sort of sounding so similar it was hard to differentiate for me. Would likely give it another go.
Light synthpop/techno - a genre that doesn't generally appeal to me - from a band I've never heard of. It's well-written, well-played, and well-produced; if I wanted to listen to this kind of music I'd definitely listen to this again.
It was super psychedelic, beautiful and entrancing. With such a cool sound and incredible instrumentation. I thought this album was really solid from front to back and there were a lot of songs I loved on here. I did think that there were a couple of songs that were pretty forgettable but for the most part this album was great!!!
Cool album of French ultra lounge, and especially good the night after a Wax Tailor show. Forward thinking for 1992 and laid out or enhanced the pattern for this type of music. I had a song on my Double Takes playlist which is always a good sign, "Only Love Can Break Your Heart."
Very cool, laid back 90s chill-out dance. I can imagine this playing after a night out, where it would be a completely inoffensive soundtrack. Maybe when it came out it was more revolutionary. It sounds great, but I don't feel that I'm getting a window into anyone's soul.
Interesting
Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Nothing Can Stop Us, Etienne Gonna Die This felt very proto-trip-hop. Sort of disco-y, sort of break-beat-y, sort of hip-hop. It was a fine album; perhaps a bit long, but the singing was pleasant and the beats were largely enjoyable. I don't know that this is something I would personally dance to, but it's certainly dance-able. Not sure where the sample in Etienne Gonna Die is from, but it's my favorite skit on the album by far.
Pretty good chill electronic album. I’ll definitely listen to this one again and probably discover more I like. 7/10 FAVORITE TRACKS- “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” “Girl VII” “People Get Real”
It was enjoyable in a not-terribly-memorable way
I didn’t hate it.
This has the potential to grow on me. Good to listen for a chill out session. Didn't care for their version of Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Still, decent and might revisit it down the road.
There's potential here for a really good electronic pop album, but it's mired down by too many songs, too long a runtime, with filler tracks and filler in individual songs.
Starts off really well then tails off
Not bad
As a fan of downtempo electronic, I’ve been meaning to dive into them forever. This was a good start. Good album, perfect for background tunes.
5/10
3/5
Not the absolute worst electronic music. In fact, some of it's quite good. I'd give it a 2.5 here if I could.
Some ok songs, Carnt Sleep is a funny title. Stoned To Say The Least is a bit nauseating, but that could also be because I'm stoned. Nothing Can Stop Us has got to be the most colorful song on this album though, and wow it glows. I love it, extremely refreshing honestly after the past few songs. But that's sadly all that really popped for me.
Occasionally really vibed with the production on this, but the indie pop + DJ concept never actually quite connected for me beyond a passing interest.
Maybe I'll listen to this without the added tracks on the U.S. edition. But there's some lovely stuff here.
Pretty solid for the most part but some tiresome tracks start cropping up towards the end and they're some of the longest to boot
Pretty fun, if it was tighter I think it could be a genuinely great album. I like "Wilson" and "Girl VII", and "London Belongs To Me" is the standout for me. Good sugar.
Overall Rating - 2.54/5 (5.08/10). Not really my taste.
I was out, but then I was pulled way in for the back half. Honestly very good, Like the Swallow was my highlight
Honestly, pretty cool? Very funky and vibey but I really grew into this album. One of the few I've put on cold to walk through NYC so that certainly helped.
There are some definite standouts on this album — "Nothing Can Stop Us" is a banger — but overall it feels a little uneven. I like the dance club vibe, the distinctively 90s-era beats and the '60s pop furnishings. But the production feels a little wafer-thin at times, and while Sarah Cracknell (who was apparently not yet an official member of the band) has her moments, some of the tracks bury her vocals in the mix, making them feel less than confident. But there is enough here to make me want to dive deeper into their catalog.
This album was wild emotional swings for me. I would really like it, then be really skeptical, then be really disappointed, then be really confused about whether I liked it. I've listened to it three times and I still can't tell if I like it.
Dub-y and chill. Such an early 90s feel. Carnt Sleep, Girl VII, Spring are the songs I like best.
I actually quite enjoyed this one surprisingly. A mix with some more boring stuff but there was quite a nice drive throughout the album. Maybe a 4, certainly a high 3.
Didn't really get into it - sounded fine
Is fading into obscurity reason enough to wind up on this list?
A good chunk of the songs on this album sounds like the mother of modern lo-fi music. I’m from the United States of kiss my ass
Hm. Almost Trip-Hop?`Not bad.
I don't think you can get any more three stars than this.
There’s a few really good songs on here but also a few that didn’t do much for me at all. Overall a nice enough listen but not one I’m ever likely to go back to after today. Top Track - Nothing Can Stop Us
I'd only ever heard the name Saint Etienne before listening to this album, which made me quite excited for it. Although not tonally the same, the "vibe" of the music reminds me instantly of Bjork in it's first song "Only Love can Break Your Heart"; Lambert has a great voice that beautifully fits with backing keyboard. After the Neil Young cover, I was both surprised and not by the historic vocals sampled into electronic weirdness with "Wilson". These tracks must be fun to make, but not always fun to listen to. "Carnt Sleep", although it has nice vocals and bassline it lacks something for me, the track is rather flat whenever the instrumental takes the fore. "Girl VII" had the upbeat dance tempo I was looking for, a fun track for sure. The xylophones and bass at the beginning of "Spring" made me instantly fall in love, both working together beautifully. Combined with dreamy vocals and strings, this is one of my favourites. "Shes the One" was ok, but largely forgettable. I skipped through "Stoned to Say the Least". Whilst I do love a long electronic piece without lyrics, it has to be something that has more going on than this track did. The repetitive sections didn't scratch my brain, and the breaks were largely uninteresting. "Nothing Can Stop Us" brings the interest once again; this band seems to do better when it's doing something more traditional with real instruments. Even the vocal samples work better here, combined with Cracknell's vocals. "London Belongs to Me" was... Nice. Lovely vocals, gentle instruments. It's nothing more or less than that: Nice. I wasn't sure about "Like the Swallow" at first, but I've decided I do have a lot of time for this track, and other tracks like it such as "Black Screen" by LCD Soundsystem and "Travelling at the Speed of Light" by Joywave; these musically expositional tracks that amount to emotionally deep lyrics before leaving the listener to ponder them with an equally long outro. Overall, this album does have a few what I would consider dead tracks that prevent it from hitting a 4. For a debut album though, its no joke.
I could find something enjoyable in this. I can’t quite give it a three but I could probably give it a 2.5. I will round up because I’m feeling generous.
Great album, vocals were beautiful, but it did get a bit boring for me after a while Favorite song: Only love can break your heart
Actually a fun vibe. Don’t know if I’ll be back but won’t rule it out. 3.5
For an electronic album, I didn't mind it. It had some fun parts and I thought the Neil Young cover was at least interesting. 3/5 Might listen again
Yer da gave it 5 because he fancies Cracknell. I give it a generous 3 because it's decent but not mind blowing
A surprisingly fun little pop album. Lots of interesting instrumental and sampled elements. The use of breakbeats works exceptionally well. The vocals are a little.. boring? Not to any extreme degree, and maybe not even enough to detract points, but I would have liked something more, whatever that may sound like. The cover of Neil Young’s “only love can break your heart” is a standout for sure, certainly more enjoyable than the original. I am not in love with this record, but we can certainly be friends.
The smug girl on this album cover has been looking down her nose at me for months during our extended hiatus and she had cultivated in me an expectation that I would hate this album as much as I hate her stupid hat and her inexplicably obvious British aura. But I actually had a lot of fun listening to this album. Very vibes. Some of the samples border on so repetitive as to be a little annoying but overall the composition of this album feels thoughtful without losing some degree of playfulness. I don't think I'll listen to it on a weekly basis, but if it were put on I wouldn't object.
Their debut, from 1992. Electronic pop of the time that channels British electro-pop sounds of Pet Shop Boys, Bronski Beat, New Order and others, with rave vibes, house vibes and other dance music shades. Girl VII especially has melodic shades of the Pet Shop Boys song “West End Girls”. “People Get Real” has dreamy pop over electronica drums and grooving bass line At 15 songs, 58 minutes a prime example of the CD bloat endemic to the 1990s. This could have been a super tight single album of about 45 minutes. Some songs could have been fun b-sides, like “Stoned to Say The Least” or “Like the Swallow”. Overall a fun listen from a band I’ve known of but never spent much time with.
I heard of this band, but I had no idea they were an electronic dance music thing. I feel like this sort of thing is waaaaaay overrepresented on here. I'm close to 120 albums in and I've maybe heard 2 or 3 rap albums. I've heard twice as many british electronic dance albums from the 90s. It could be random chance I guess, but 120 albums is a pretty decent sampling... I hate that I always seem to be bringing this point up, but it hurts my enjoyment to feel like I'm having something crammed down my throat. I don't think it's bad music, but I can't give it any better than a 3.
Started off promising, but lost my interest soon after. Stand-outs - Only Love Can Break Your Heart
I loved the repeated tune in the “radio” track (first track) but the rest of this record is nothing like that. It’s ok, the voices are very 90s (nonchalant, almost out of tune) which bothers me a bit. Some songs are very mediocre, others have a very well executed sonic vibe. Nice to discover, curious what more they got.
Pretty good album with some good techno beats
This may have been good in 1991 but most of these tracks are forgettable.
Pleasant surprise! Very cozy tunes.
This was really fucking weird but in a good way. I think it flowed pretty flawlessly between tracks and overall was a good listen
It's alright. Inoffensive. Listenable. I wasn't too impressed with the Neil Young cover. My kid liked it, haha. I came around the latter half of the album. The movie sample quotes were decently used. It's fine.
Not so bad
Favorite Track: Only Love Can Break Your Heart
vibey
Is dit een triphop album? Het is heel spacey en de vocals werken heel erg goed, doet me gewoon heel erg denken aan Portishead. En dat is positief, ik vond Portishead best wel vet, enige punt daar is dat het na een tijdje wel gaat vervelen. Dit is volgens Wikipedia ook gewoon een band, maar eerlijk gezegd kan ik het gewoon niet helemaal geloven. Dit klinkt als een elektronisch album, en dan specifiek een triphop/ambient album op bepaalde momenten. Ook de toevoeging van het 'nieuwsitem' door het album heen voegt veel aan sfeer toe. Wel toegegeven; het album houdt niet de hele tijd mn aandacht vast. Sommige stukken zijn heel vet gedaan en dan zit ik op het puntje van mn stoel, maar er is ook een heel stuk mwah en dat weerhoud me er een beetje van om dit 4 sterren te geven. Het is een hoge 3 sterren, dat dan weer wel omdat het wel echt iets anders/unieks doet, maar voor 4 mist het voor mij net dat kleine beetje dat het echt bijzonder maakt. FAVO: Carnt sleep, She's the one, Stoned to say the least, Nothing can stop us
It was okay. Not really my vibe.
It’s not a bad groove
Unique and definitely not my style, but there’s something about this album that stuck with me
Not bad...solid 3.
This is just perfect chill music. I did love the sampling but it made me want to listen to other things more. The cover of Only Love will break your heart was great. The parts didn’t quite amount to the whole, though.
Delightful
Yeah... this was OK. It's not music I go for, I really don't dig samples and beats as the predominant base for anything. This is a generous 3.
An aural time capsule of the 1990s and a pleasure.
I wanted to like it.
Trip hop is always a strange genre for me; in the moment I generally love it, and totally groove. But, revisiting it later, it always seems less intelligent. I don't know. Basically I enjoyed this until I didn't. Not a bad album. Very artsy. Fave tracks: - Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Carnt Sleep - Girl VII - Spring - Nothing Can Stop - Kiss and Make Up - Like the Swallow
nice
This was very French and electronic. I guess it is on the list to have more exposure to that intersection.
It's aight. Was okay in the background, but not something I'd listen to otherwise.
Great focus edm vibe. Very similar to what you hear today for focus beats.
3 sterne
I actually lowkey fucked with it
Had not heard of them before. Reasonably pleasant, mostly, but forgettable Euro-weenie blandness.
Welcome to the 90s! Loved this at the time, but it’s very of its era now. Can’t say it’s aged too well tbh. 3 for old times sake.
Going with a generous 3. Really enjoyed some of it. Others got a little stale on me. Reminded me of St Bart’s club music in the late 90s early 00s.
This album could be the entire playlist of an H&M store. I like the ethereal sounds and it's definitely unique, but much like an H&M, it's really hit or miss and you get the sneaking feeling that person making the product is not well.
this is fun early 90s proto-euro pop, much more soft and painted in indie sensibilities before the ace of base-ification of pop a few years later. amazing how 35 years later this album shows NO signs of being dated at all
this was actually surprisingly cute! i like them! it felt very teen movie, pop indie esque.
Beginning the album with two interludes and a Neil Young cover reduces the impact of what's otherwise a dreamy, pretty album
I've only heard a couple things from this group before hearing this album. But I'm kinda familiar with the genre so I'm sure I would know my reaction when it was released: 1992: meh... I'm not into this. 1996: yeah I kinda like this! 1999: dude I'm SO into this! (Ten years + of no listening) 2000something: yeah I remember loving this! So on and so forth until today. But I actually don't know the record. So now my thoughts are: ......it was okay.
Well well well..Finally a girl album. Yay. My French isn't great so I missed some intent. Liked the percussion intros. Girl VII spoken monotone words sounded like she ripped off Madonna a bit. Listened before? N Saved some tracks? Y Favorite tracks: Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Can't Sleep, ⭐⭐⭐ Wish it could be more
Meh