Foxbase Alpha

Saint Etienne’s dazzling debut looms large over ’90s downtempo, electro, and indie dance. Featuring dusty ’60s pop moves arranged elegantly over house grooves borrowed from the UK’s booming rave scene, the album unfolds like a luxurious dream you wish would never end. Chanteuse Sarah Cracknell is the embodiment of grace and sophistication on the stunning “Spring” and the romantic “Kiss and Make Up,” though it’s Moira Lambert who takes the lead on the sumptuous, danceable reimagining of Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.”

Despite a handful of classic pop singles, Saint Etienne's debut album, Foxbase Alpha, is a tentative fusion of club culture and swinging '60s pop.

<p>His remixes pull songs that previously existed in a beatific, stoned fug into sharper focus, says <strong>Alexis Petridis</strong></p>