St Etienne Foxbase Alpha CD

Digitally re-mastered edition of the British Electronic Pop trio's 1991 debut. Foxbase Alpha is one of the most influential albums in '90s dance music. While the rest of the U.K. was mired in a post-Acid House Ecstasy hangover, the Northeast London trio of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, and Pete Wiggs married club rhythms to classic Pop forms. The album's first two singles were covers of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" and "Kiss and Make Up" by Sarah Records mainstays the Field Mice. Elsewhere, the album features esoteric sample loops like "Wilson," featuring samples from an old record about British currency decimalization, and "Etienne Gonna Die." There are also killer Pop songs like the pounding "She's the One" and the lovely "Carnt Sleep." Cracknell's classic pop voice recalls Petula Clark, and Stanley and Wiggs are inventive arranger-producers. Universal.

1. This Is Radio Etienne 2. Only Love Can Break Your Heart 3. Wilson 4. Carnt Sleep 5. Girl VII 6. Spring 7. She's the One 8. Stoned to Say the Least 9. Nothing Can Stop Us 10. Etienne Gonna Die 11. London Belongs to Me 12. Like the Swallow 13. Dilworth's Theme