Saint Etienne – Take Me to the Pilot Review

Never is there a right time to end a creative output. Whether it is on the back of a career slump or after releasing an all-time great, it doesn’t feel right to cap art. But Saint Etienne seems satisfied with their discography and believes now is the time to call it a day. They are rightly proud of this run of albums, and the lead-up to their last-ever work, International, is well underway. We are in the end times for not just the heavy hitters like McCartney and Jagger, but for the bands that were as deserving of acclaim. Take Me to the Pilot highlights an inherent quality Saint Etienne has offered listeners for thirty years. They argue that all things must come to an end, that a finality must be brought onto the art before the art brings it onto the artist. That much is true, and Take Me to the Pilot is a convincing song for that purpose.  

Not a cover of the Elton John deep cut, but a song which highlights, as Glad did, a moment from Saint Etienne’s discography. They are showcasing the best of their moments across these thirty years by establishing one song per genre. Or at least that appears to be the link between Take Me to the Pilot and Glad. These incredibly different tones are brilliant to hear, but they also add a layer to their music that the band will never expand on after this. They say they won’t, anyway. Whether they do return is yet to be seen but, in all likelihood, it remains unlikely. Why return when you are offering pieces of work which can be argued as close to your best? Take Me to the Pilot has a club scene core to it, an electronic energy bursting through it and informing those rather broad lyrics. You can hear that Orbital influence in the studio here, those hallmarks of electronic pop rage through.  

Take Me to the Pilot is an extremely different sound for Saint Etienne. It’s different to those who know Foxbase Alpha as the peak of their works. It certainly suits the DJ subsection of Saint Etienne members. Pete Wiggs might throw this one out during a danceable set. This is a very danceable track, after all. Take Me to the Pilot is not as fussy with its lyrics as the band would be on other songs. The focus is on vocal interjections and what can be done by pushing electronic tones together. Its slow build and sudden end are a nice reflection of the band. They have pulled themselves through countless genre changes and cultural scene riffs, and at the end of it, have a chance to end things on their terms. Few can say they have that opportunity. Take Me to the Pilot is about exploring what could be out there.  

No promise is made of anything being out there, but even the slightest possibility of change is what keeps Saint Etienne going. Reinvention moves in many ways. Saint Etienne has chosen death as their reinvention. The show will not go on. But, in a way, Take Me to the Pilot highlights why this is the right choice for the band. A chance to reinvent yourself feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but as their discography shows, Saint Etienne has tried and succeeded at this several times. Their next adventure is a private one, but to get there, it means offering a satisfying, collaboration-heavy final work. If the album features are as strong as Glad and Take Me to the Pilot, the gamble of announcing a farewell record will have paid off. Even if it doesn’t, Saint Etienne are, at least, asking their listeners to think of what could come next in their own lives.