Saint Etienne - Tales from the Turnpike House

Post-modern popsters Saint Etienne have always been an anomaly. Formed by English music critic Bob Stanley and named after a French soccer team, the trio forged a new genre by mixing the pop of swinging ’60s London with the sounds of the city’s club scene of the ’90s. The group’s seventh CD is an ambitious concept album, a pop opera about a fictional London apartment block. With tales of its residents and their day-to-day lives, it could easily serve as a dreamy soundtrack to the next Sims computer game.

Jan. 24