The Abba chapter in Bon Stanley´s pop encyclopedia, Yeah Yeah Yeah, irked me a little because the root of their greatness gets pinned down simply as hard work, as if hours in the studio make hits in the pipeline. It can´t be that simple, surely, look at the Stone Roses. They spent more than the requisite time toiling away on The Second Coming and they didn´t manage to come up with The Name Of The Game. They didn´t even come up with Hey Hey Helen.
So what about Bon Stanley´s band? Can all this wonder be the result of graft? The new track, Pond House, certainly bears traces of hard-earned craftiness. The simplicity of its parts making a huge dreamy whole. Maybe making stuff sound so good can be down to effort, or combining time and patience. Vocals, bass, drums and melody all honed to build towards mood. According to Saint Etienne´s Facebook page, the new album, I´ve Been Trying To Tell, is about the nineties, about optimism and unreliable memories. Those are exactly the kind of mood aches which Pond House´s expertly placed ´Here it comes again´ vocal snippet conjures so well.
Alasdair McLellan, described as the band´s favourite photographer, certainly backs up the mood with the single´s video. It´s part of a film that will accompany the whole album, and on its own there´s enough to suggest the prospect of something special. It sits with the song so well, with time passing like a ship, or like a nail being filed, or like hair being dried, or like stones being skimmed. Fragrances are evoked along with feelings, and gull sounds along with the song. I´m just left wondering whether Pond House is a place or a genre.
THIS WEEK
Saint Etienne – Pond House
5,177 views since 27th July Weekly Average Views – 18,120
LAST WEEK
Sherelle – 160 Down The A406
Weekly Average Views – 458 Blog Week Views – 456 (Consistant Bouyancy - Kudos Everyone)
EXTRA
Abba – Hey Hey Helen