St Etienne - Sound of Water

Digitally remastered edition of this 2000 album from the British Pop trio. Sound of Water is a somber meditation, the kind which sounds best on days when nothing about your life seems wrong, but nothing seems quite right either. That said, the album is perhaps the band's most consistently compelling record since So Tough. Standouts include "Heart Failed," a pulsing, creepy number featuring sawing strings and bubbling synthesizers, "Sycamore," highlighting Sarah Cracknell's seductive, breathy vocals over piano, flute, and quietly twittering percussion, and the beautiful "Downey, CA," which continues the band's penchant for American cultural references. The record also features three instrumentals, "Late Morning," "Aspects of Lambert," and "Place at Dawn," all of which convey the vivid, widescreen cinematic imagery that has always been St. Etienne's most effective tool.