Saint Etienne - hobart paving, 1993

"Saint Etienne's cast of characters – Dilworth, Hobart, Calico, Conchita – inhabit an impressionistic soundscape ("Avenue"), a fanciful rap ("Calico"), a girl-group pledge ("You're in a Bad Way"), a nostalgic reverie ("Leafhound") and a lovelorn ballad ("Hobart Paving"). Their world (families, clubs, eccentric locals) is what must suffice in a fragmented era in which pop music's legacy is often the only common ground. There's a surprise from track to track, usually announced by a movie sound clip or a record sample like Rush's "Spirit of Radio," testaments to Saint Etienne's big pop ears and their meaningful emulation of hip-hop collage. The diversity recalls the group's debut album, Foxbase Alpha (1992), yet So Tough is entirely different."