Only Liv can break your heart: Saint Etienne at the Kazimier

The UK’s had its fair share of brilliant pop bands. But Saint Etienne are one of the most special.

They’re even more special because they’ve never really had a huge hit, and over the years have amassed somewhat of a rabid, cult fanbase you seriously don’t want to mess with. There’s something incredibly endearing about a band doing pop music, continually on the fringes of the mainstream, who do it just because they love it. The nearest they’ve had to success is their wonderful, dubby cover of ‘Only Love Will Break Your Heart’, which soundtracked many a 90s morning-after-the-night-before, the catchy-as-nits ‘He’s On The Phone’, and a collaboration with trance DJ Paul Van Dyk that hit number seven in the charts.

What makes St Etienne so unutterably brilliant is they’re just so very, acutely British. Frontwoman Sarah Cracknell’s a sort of begrudging Croydon sex kitten - an indie-pop pin-up girl who looks like she’d much rather be supping a pint down her local pub than adding swooning vocals over dreamy dance beats. Over their twentysomething years in existence they’ve produced a slew of witty, grown-up, woozy pop and it’s why we’re so bloody excited that they’re visiting the Kazimier this spring. They rarely tour, but they’re off across the world this year and including a stop in Liverpool courtesy of local promoters Evol. Do not miss.

Saint Etienne
The Kazimier, Wolstenholme Square
24th May