As America remains busy anticipating the return of Saint Etienne to stateside stages this fall, the English trio have provided a warm look back in their new video for “Magpie Eyes”. The Tash Tung-directed clip, which you can watch below, shows a trio of youths depicting a fictionalized Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs as they spend their days free from cares.
“The video was shot in Stevenage with its once fine Ladybird book New Town architecture that was a fleeting vision of suburban utopia,” says Wiggs in a press release. “The director Tash Tung came up with the idea of an imagined younger ‘us’ spending a typical day hanging out in record shops and cafes — capturing the ennui and bonhomie of those years when you have no idea how your life will pan out.”
Adds Tung: “It was so much fun to make a music video for Saint Etienne, a band who I grew up with and who have a long history of interesting promos. It was a great experience to work in a small team and also with a lot of creative freedom, using film photography and shooting docu portraits of kids from the local area in the town centre. My favorite — very serendipitous — moment was when I cast my friend Eve Mahoney to play the young version of Sarah, and I found out Eve’s uncle used to be the band’s photographer, the amazing Joe Dilworth!”
“Magpie Eyes” is the latest track off Saint Etienne’s effervescent new record, Home Counties, which they’ll show off later this year when they play ONCE Ballroom in Somerville on September 24. Watch the video below, and scan through all of the celebrated trio’s U.S. live dates.
Saint Etienne US Fall Tour
September 24: Somerville, MA – ONCE Ballroom
September 25: New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
September 26: Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
September 27: Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall
September 29: Chicago, IL – Park West
October 2: Seattle, WA – Neptune
October 4: San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
October 5: Pomona, CA – Glass House
October 6: Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre