Saint Etienne team up with Confidence Man on their new single, ‘Brand New Me.’

Saint Etienne album,’ International’, is out this Friday, 5th September.

The single is accompanied by a fantastic Hanna Barbera inspired video directed and animated by Kyle Platts and Matt Lloyd.

When two cult favourites come head-to-head to record a single together, you’d expect the results to be special – but ‘Brand New Me’ is so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s a pumped-up cartoon of a pop record with hooks

✧˖°. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE ✧˖°. LISTEN TO THE SINGLE HERE ✧˖°.

Saint Etienne first met their Heavenly label mates Confidence Man at Kite Festival back in 2022, and it was love at first sight. Confidence Man had been weaned on a diet of Saint Etienne and Vegemite whilst growing up in Australia, while Saint Etienne were genuinely dazzled by Confidence Man’s shiny, new, exciting cocktail of electro-pop hedonism. Plans were instantly hatched to work together, and the result is ‘Brand New Me’.

Sarah Cracknell and Janet Planet’s voices are a natural pairing, and when Sarah steps in for the spoken word parts, ‘Brand New Me’ begins to feel like the lovechild Nothing Can Stop Us always hinted at.

Talking about the collaboration, Sarah of Saint Etienne said:

“I got a message from Danny Mitchell at Heavenly Recordings, Saint Etienne’s spiritual home, about an Australian band they had signed called Confidence Man. Danny told me they were fans of our music and would love to meet and chat about a potential collaboration. We met backstage at a festival and immediately hit it off, kindred spirits! Making ‘Brand New Me’ was a lot of fun and I think it’s a perfect mash up of both our band’s styles.“

✧˖°. Praise for International ✧˖°.

“To the end, Saint Etienne have never faltered on their mission statement. Magic is here. Believe. “

– Record Collector ★★★★ –

“Like all the best goodbyes, Saint Etienne bow out on top form and affectionate terms” – Uncut ★★★★

“A joyous farewell from this most wonderfully acute of English pop ensembles” – Mojo ★★★★

“Don’t be sad they’re ending, be grateful they kept up the high standard to the last”

– Classic Pop ★★★★ –

• INTERNATIONAL • TRACK-LIST • PRE-ORDER ON VINYL OR CD • RELEASED ON SEPTEMBER 5TH •

The group aren’t splitting up as such – they still remain the best of friends after 35 years recording together – but they don’t feel like they want to go on forever and wanted to go out with a bang. International follows hot on the heels of “The Night”- released last November – a nocturnal, ambient record that garnered some of the best reviews of the group’s career.

Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have known each other since childhood and started the group in 1990 with their classic cover of Neil Young’s ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’. Sarah Cracknell joined for their third single ’Nothing Can Stop Us’ and the Foxbase Alpha album in 1991. Since then they have branched out into films, books and curation, and became artists in residence at the Southbank Centre. The group simply feels it is now time to draw a line under new recordings.

International is very different in style and approach to “The Night”, but both records are pure Saint Etienne. For International, the trio decided to ask friends, heroes and contemporaries to collaborate with them. That list included Confidence Man (who they discovered were St Et superfans after they played together at Kite Festival in 2022). ‘Brand New Me’ feels like a rebooted 1991 gem – think ‘Nothing Can Stop Us’ meets ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ – and features Sarah duetting with Confidence Man’s Janet Planet.

You’ll hear other collaborators on ‘Sweet Melodies’ (Erol Alkan), ‘Two Lovers’ (Vince Clarke), ‘The Go Betweens’ (a duet with Nick Heyward), ‘Take Me To The Pilot’ (Paul Hartnoll of Orbital) and ‘Dancing Heart’ and ‘He’s Gone’, a brace co-written and produced with Tim Powell of Xenomania.

The closing track on International is a tear jerker, reflecting on where they’ve been and who they’ve become over three and a half decades – the group say goodbye to their fans, on record, for the very ‘Last Time’.

Notable ‘International’ contributions:

Glad – co-written and produced with Tom Rowlands of the Chemical Brothers and featuring Jez Williams of Doves .
Dancing Heart and He’s Gone – co-written and produced with Tim Powell of Xenomania.
The Go Betweens – co-written with Nick Heyward who duets with Sarah.
Sweet Melodies – co-written and produced with Erol Alkan.
Brand New Me – Duet with Janet Planet of Confidence Man.
Take Me To The Pilot – co-written and produced with Paul Hartnoll of Orbital.
Two Lovers – co-written with Vince Clarke.

⋆˙⟡ FOR MORE EDITIONS AND MERCHANDISE VISIT THE SAINT ETIENNE SHOP ✧˖°.

⋆˙⟡ Saint Etienne are planning live dates for 2026. Watch this space. ✧˖°.

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