“Mario’s Café” contains numerous English-only references. I caught “Did you see the KLF last night?” and a few others. Most of the album is actually an unabashed celebration of all things English. Being an Anglophile, this only helps the album’s case. It is a bit refreshing having an album framed in terms of samples from British television and film.
What does it for me is “Avenue”. This easily surpasses anything else on the album. Having an almost 8 minute pop song is pretty great, and the coy nature of the song makes me truly adore it. Somehow the drum machine even has a certain charm to it, with its strange programming.
Dance is present throughout the album. The hit from this was “You’re in a Bad Way”. Even the quieter, more blatantly 90s songs like “Conchita Martinez” and “Junk the Morgue” are still engaging. Somehow the album sidestepped a lot of the bad parts of 90s dance and managed to infuse it with soul.
This is a great album for remembering 90s Brit pop, 90s dance, or just if you were curious what all the fuss about Saint Etienne was ever about.