In terms of wide appeal and commercial success, Saint Etienne always deserved better. The U.K. trio emerged in the early Nineties with a cosmopolitan sound that thrived on a subtle tension: their appetite for clubby anthems contrasted an obsession with the silky contours of retro British pop – think Dusty Springfield, or the jet set mystique of John Barry movie themes. 1998’s Good Humor and 2000’s Sound of Water were the kind of introspective records that made you feel nostalgic about the present. Subsequent albums became more experimental – last year’s The Night was a whispered descent into the slo-mo pleasures of ambient art-pop.

Now that its members are approaching 60, Etienne is calling it a day. Their 13 th album, International , interprets the ritual of early ret

See Full Page