Saint Etienne - Smash The System DVD

Released as an accompaniment to their CD of the same name, Smash the System features videos to many of St Etienne's singles, ranging from "Nothing Can Stop Us" to "The Bad Photographer". Formed in 1990 by music journalist Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, St Etienne really clicked when they were joined by vocalist Sarah Cracknell, who looked like she'd stepped out of some imaginary 60s TV ad. Though not a "great" singer in the somewhat overrated, pyrotechnical sense, she would become emblematic of St Etienne's enduring efforts to create a pop canon that was at once as kitsch... as Tupperware yet deadly serious. In their greatest moments, St Etienne hinted at an ecstatic, fragrant sense of the pure, nostalgic essence of pop, pop as it might have been, one perfect spring day in London long ago. Although St Etienne kept pace with the pop times, from the baggy grooves of "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" to the Ibiza-friendly flamenco of "Pale Movie", there was always an idealism about them, hinted at in the unlikely title of this collection. St Etienne's musical philosophy is matched in these videos, whose imagery ranges from the mundane to the magical, from derelict London gasworks to idealised moped rides in exotic locations. Among the visual highlights here are "Nothing Can Stop Us Now"; in which the band are recreated in a space age visual jukebox, "Avenue"; which flickers with grainy images of Cracknell's family home movie footage and "Hug My Soul" in which Cracknell torments her admirers as she plays hopscotch in a baby doll outfit. On the DVD: The quality of these videos holds up well, especially the exaggerated synthetic colours of "Nothing Can Stop Us Now". Extra features include a photo gallery and commentary in which, apparently confronted by these videos for the first time in years, Stanley and Wiggs mumble occasionally inaudible reminiscences, while Cracknell looks on with unnecessary self-deprecation at her appearance. ("Too much make-up.. I've got a fringe...") --David Stubbs [show more]

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