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Saint Etienne - Relocate
Pop sensibly
It must be about 15 years since I first heard Saint Etienne's Only Love Can Break Your Heart and felt it was one of lifes lyrical truisms. Later records such as Nothing Can Stop Us Now also reflected on that feeling of 'this is my life right now'. I forgot about them in about 1993 as Foxbase Alpha vanished from my collection.
Then five years later I was working on Creation Record's website and I ended up in posession of a large amount of their back catalogue and started listening to it again. It felt more like background music then, music that didn't cause offence but also felt good. The records got filed into my collection and left for a while.
Then Angie started playing them. I remember the songs, but not really the lyrics. When I noticed they were going to play at the Barbican's Only Connect series this year I thought I'd buy tickets for Angie and I to go along. I was interested more in the Film they were presenting, about London's Lea Valley, and new Angie would enjoy the music.
The week before I though "I wonder what they've been doing lately", so bought their latest album Tales From Turnpike House and gave it a few listens. What struck me most wasn't the music, which is as pleasant and un-intrusive as always, but the lyrics. Or rather the lyrical content. It seems that Saint Etienne has grown up with me.
The concert was, as you'd imagine, full of 30 something Guardian readers. I was one of them. Their film, "What did you do today Mervyn Day?" was great. It was interesting, beautiful, emotional and inspiring. It was story and documentary. See it if you get a chance.
Which is what this song is.
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