Before you get the fear at the mention of the phrase 'concept album', remember one thing. This is not Genesis or Yes we're dealing with, but the art-pop loveliness that is Saint Etienne. Still, it's a dangerous prospect, especially when you consider David Essex is involved.

Tales From Turnpike House, as its cover shows, literally takes the front of a fictional tower block to see what's inside. It seems, despite the worry, that what is within is a tip-top selection of subtle pop tracks and one of the most strangely wonderful duets you'll ever hear.

From the rising of the sun to the coming of the night, Tales takes in the lives of Turnpike's residents with gorgeous success. As always, Sarah Cracknell's voice glitters and shines above Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley's arrangements, which range from the ethereal Beach Boys of opener Sun In My Morning, through baroque dance with Slow Down At The Castle, the twin disco parties of A Good Thing and Stars Above Us, and out the haunting finale Goodnight.

For the most part, this is a concept that works and the pair of Teenage Winter and Relocate sum up the overall triumph. The former is a classic slice of Saint Etienne, a winsome drama of the future of adolescence that includes observations on charity shops' defeat by eBay and flats covering every urban green space, as subtly delivered as a velvet fist. The latter sees Cracknell take the wife's role in a duet with husband David Essex, and while the result probably deserves an airing in the West End, the kitsch and cool of the band carry through this argument on the pros and cons of moving to the country.

It's 15 years since Saint Etienne set out on their journey with Only Love Can Break Your Heart and they are still relevant. It's an impressive feat, one that they've achieved through never standing still or re-treading old ground, and constantly mining that quintessential English that surrounds them. Quite where their next album, a children's collection called Up The Wooden Hills, will take them is anyone's guess.


Chris Long, BBC Manchester Music