By Colin 
UK indie-pop icons Saint Etienne have announced the release of their final studio album International, due 5th September 2025 via Heavenly Recordings. The album arrives as a celebration of a 35-year career that’s consistently redefined the boundaries of pop, and it launches with the euphoric lead single ‘Glad’.
Co-produced by Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and featuring Jez Williams of Doves on guitar, ‘Glad’ sets the tone for this closing chapter. It’s a track bursting with light and life—built on shimmering synths and grounded in Saint Etienne’s signature balance of warmth, melody and melancholy.
Going out with joy
Formed in London in 1990 by childhood friends Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, with Sarah Cracknell joining soon after, Saint Etienne carved out a uniquely British sound: nostalgic yet modern, danceable yet poetic. While the band will continue to exist, International is confirmed as their final album. Rather than ending with nostalgia, they’re choosing to go out with creative clarity and joy.
“The song is about taking pleasure in everyday things like nature and the outdoors when life is otherwise getting you down,” explains Wiggs. That sentiment is woven throughout ‘Glad’—its message of grounded happiness resonates all the more deeply given the band’s decision to close this era on their own terms.
A rich final chapter
International features an impressive list of collaborators, including Confidence Man, Erol Alkan, Vince Clarke, Nick Heyward, Paul Hartnoll (Orbital), and Tim Powell (Xenomania). The result is an album that feels expansive and collaborative, a reflection of the influence Saint Etienne have had on pop music over the last three decades.
Known for albums like Foxbase Alpha, So Tough, Tiger Bay and Good Humor, Saint Etienne built a discography that bridged 60s pop, house, ambient, and northern soul with style and subtlety. Their work has always captured the spirit of a city at dusk, a walkman on a bus, a chance encounter that sticks with you forever.
With International, the band offer one last record full of detail, generosity and vision. It’s not a goodbye with sadness, but a farewell built on gratitude and creativity.
Saint Etienne will mark the release with live shows planned for 2026, giving fans a final chance to experience this beloved band on stage.