I'm not going to try to convince you that Sound of Water is a fabulous album, because it isn't. That's not an unreasonable assertion; if you've heard much Saint Etienne, you're already aware that their music doesn't routinely change worlds, scale new philosophical heights or defeat the forces of prejudice and intolerance. However, if you've just spent a long day changing worlds, scaling new philosophical heights or defeating the forces of prejudice and intolerance, you'll probably enjoy sitting down and listening to a nice calm album like Sound of Water when you get home.
Why take prozac when "Late Morning" can lull you insensate far more gracefully by way of Sarah Cracknell's breathy, honeyed tones? Repeat the track until you're thoroughly soothed, because "Heart Failed (In the Back of a Taxi)", perhaps the album's most striking song, is pretty grim -- albeit grim in the same almost-bouncy way that Depeche Mode used to be grim. If this was Belle & Sebastian, we'd be due for half an hour of moody reminiscence, but Saint Etienne view events from a more distant, more optimistic plain, and always seem to imply that even the most depressing events wind up turning out alright in the end.
"Don't Back Down" plays its trials-of-love storyline over a lush midtempo disco backdrop updated with "current" blips and bleeps, while "Just a Little Overcome" meanders across the landscape. "Boy is Crying" is more promising, offering an austere but involving guitar line and intricate hand-drum percussion, with Cracknell leaving her come-ons in favor of wry, assertive R&B sassiness.
The obvious show-stopper here is "How We Used To Live", a nine-minute epic that initially seems like it's only a turntable-scratch away from being an easy listening classic. Three minutes of blurry guitar schmaltz give way, thankfully, to a rousing disco centerpiece; though its keyboards seem almost cloyingly synthetic, it'll get listeners on their feet, hopefully getting them nice and friendly and close before settling into its ninety second run-off. Enjoy that run-off, because "The Place at Dawn" has nothing much to add.
While Sound of Water shows Saint Etienne to be maturing as songwriters, it may come at the cost of their lighter moments. I applaud their efforts to increase the philosophical heft of their music, but it's not unreasonable to expect a decent helping of lightweight amusement from a band that has provided it so well in the past. In that respect, Sound of Water is a little skimpy, delivering too much folksy moodiness and too little bouncy cheer. "Heart Failed (In the Back of a Taxi)" and "How We Used to Live" both deliver, but they're a long way apart; another "big" song would've bridged that gap nicely.
To the beach-bound summer listener, though, Sound of Water should be thoroughly satisfying -- as long as you're alternating between dozing, tanning and reading a mindless best-seller. If you're building historically accurate sandcastles or engaging in an exhaustive study of Marcel Proust, seek smarter musical accompaniment.
