Home Counties (album)

Home Counties is the ninth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne. It was released on 2 June 2017 by Heavenly Recordings.[3] The album features collaborations with Gerard Johnson, Augustus (also known as Gus Lobban of Kero Kero Bonito) and Nick Moon (of Kyte). The album features production from Shawn Lee, Carwyn Ellis and Richard X.

Home Counties
Studio album by Saint Etienne
Released	2 June 2017 (2017-06-02)
Length	56:12
Label	Heavenly
Producer	Augustus Carwyn Ellis Shawn Lee Nick Moon Saint Etienne Pete Wiggs Richard X
Saint Etienne chronology
Words and Music by Saint Etienne (2012) Home Counties (2017)
Singles from Home Counties
"Magpie Eyes" Released: 11 April 2017[1] "Dive" Released: 7 August 2017[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Clash	6/10[6]
The Guardian	[7]
Mixmag	8/10[8]
Mojo	[9]
The Observer	[10]
Pitchfork	7.6/10[11]
Q	[12]
The Skinny	[13]
Uncut	9/10[14]

Home Counties received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on 16 reviews.[4]

Commercial performance

Home Counties debuted at number 31 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 3,215 copies in its first week.[15]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Saint Etienne and Shawn Lee, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Reunion"			0:22
2.	"Something New"			3:17
3.	"Magpie Eyes"			3:34
4.	"Whyteleafe"	Gus Lobban	Lee Augustus	3:09
5.	"Dive"	Carwyn Ellis		4:48
6.	"Church Pew Furniture Restorer"			1:53
7.	"Take It All In"	Ellis		3:25
8.	"Popmaster"			0:28
9.	"Underneath the Apple Tree"			2:35
10.	"Out of My Mind"	Lawrence Oakley Mark Waterfield	Lee Richard X^[a]	3:57
11.	"After Hebden"	Lobban	Lee Augustus	3:31
12.	"Breakneck Hill"			1:39
13.	"Heather"	Nick Moon	Lee Moon	3:58
14.	"Sports Report"			0:12
15.	"Train Drivers in Eyeliner"			3:16
16.	"Unopened Fan Mail"	Robin Bennett		3:04
17.	"What Kind of World"			3:07
18.	"Sweet Arcadia"	Gerard Johnson		7:43
19.	"Angel of Woodhatch"			2:14

Japanese digital download bonus track[16]

No.	Title	Length
20.	"You Don't Own Me"

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Home Counties.[17]

Saint Etienne

• Sarah Cracknell – vocals
• Bob Stanley – keyboards
• Pete Wiggs – keyboards

Additional musicians

• Shawn Lee – drums, percussion, programming, Maestro Rhythm King, bass, guitars, banjo, vibraphone, Mellotron, Yamaha ED10, Siel synth, Casio CZ101, Yamaha CS-5, Roland MC-202, Crumar Multiman, microKORG, Omnichord, glockenspiel, marimba, tambourine handclaps, backing vocals
• Gerard Johnson – voice (track 1); piano (tracks 1, 2, 15, 18); Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, Teisco 100P, Yamaha YS100 (tracks 2, 15, 18)
• Carwyn Ellis – bass, guitars, Mellotron, harpsichord, Hammond organ (tracks 5, 7)
• Augustus – programming (tracks 4, 11); Novation Bass Station, Kawai PHm, Yamaha PSR-76 (track 4); Roland MT-32, Korg 101 (track 11)
• Ben Greenslade-Stanton – trombone, trumpet (tracks 2, 5, 9)
• Mark Waterfield – guitar, backing vocals (track 10)
• Lawrence Oakley – programming, Nord Lead 3, backing vocals (track 10)
• Tim Larcombe – bass (track 3)
• James Arben – flute (track 18)
• Ken Bruce – voice (track 8)
• Wolf – voice (track (14)

Technical

• Shawn Lee – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 1–9, 11–19)
• Saint Etienne – production (tracks 1–12, 14–19)
• Pierre Duplan – engineering (all tracks); mixing (tracks 1–9, 11–19)
• Carwyn Ellis – production (tracks 5, 7)
• Augustus – production (tracks 4, 11)
• Richard X – additional production, mixing (track 10)
• Pete Wiggs – production (track 13)
• Nick Moon – production (track 13)
• Guy Davie – mastering (at Electric Mastering, London)

Artwork

• Scott King – art, design
• Rhys Atkinson – art assistance, design assistance
• Dee Noble – photography

Charts

Chart (2017)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18]	190
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19]	97
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20]	22
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[21]	86
UK Albums (OCC)[22]	31
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23]	3
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[24]	21

References

1. "Magpie Eyes (2017) | Saint Etienne". 7digital (UK). Retrieved 8 September 2017.
2. "Dive (3:35 Edit) (2017) | Saint Etienne". 7digital (UK). Retrieved 8 September 2017.
3. Brandle, Lars (23 March 2017). "Saint Etienne Returns with 'Home Counties'". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
4. "Reviews and Tracks for Home Counties by Saint Etienne". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
5. Sendra, Tim. "Home Counties – Saint Etienne". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
6. Heaney, Joe (30 June 2017). "Saint Etienne – Home Counties". Clash. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
7. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (1 June 2017). "Saint Etienne: Home Counties review – finding Arcadia in the Brexit heartlands". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
8. Moore, Ralph (2 June 2017). "June: 18 albums you need to hear this month". Mixmag. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
9. Tyler, Kieron (July 2017). "Filter Albums". Mojo. No. 284. p. 86. ISSN 1351-0193.
10. Morris, Damien (4 June 2017). "Saint Etienne: Home Counties review – a winningly witty paean". The Observer. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
11. Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (10 June 2017). "Saint Etienne: Home Counties". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
12. Harrison, Ian (Summer 2017). "Q Review: New Albums". Q. No. 374. p. 108. ISSN 0955-4955.
13. Wade, Lewis (30 May 2017). "Saint Etienne – Home Counties". The Skinny. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
14. Dale, Jon (July 2017). "Saint Etienne – Home Counties". Uncut. No. 242. p. 37. ISSN 1368-0722. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
15. Jones, Alan (9 June 2017). "Official Charts Analysis: Ed Sheeran's ÷ back at No.1". Music Week. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
16. "Home Counties". Hostess Entertainment. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
17. Home Counties (liner notes). Saint Etienne. Heavenly Recordings. 2017. HVNLP139CD.CS1 maint: others (link)
18. "Ultratop.be – Saint Etienne – Home Counties" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
19. "Ultratop.be – Saint Etienne – Home Counties" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
21. "Spanishcharts.com – Saint Etienne – Home Counties". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
22. "Saint Etienne | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
23. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
24. "Saint Etienne Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2017.