Sarah Cracknell
Red Kite

"Will you gift me another album like this at some point? I kind of hope so, maybe one day it will happen, perhaps just for me... Always yours, Danny." Let's start again from here, from the super sweet ending of my "Lipslide" review: I swear, I had no idea that while I was writing those words like a teenager dealing with their first crush, Sarah Cracknell's second album was already out, yet I like to think I made a wish and it was granted; come on let me have it, let me bask in this illusion! It's been exactly eighteen years since that first "solo" album, many things have changed, even her voice has slightly changed, the years have made it even more sensual, giving it a warm and buttery tone; you could already notice it in "Words And Music," with sounds like these the slight metamorphosis becomes even more evident. Her portrait on the cover is painted in soft, blurred colors, her expression slightly thoughtful, almost indecipherable, a small Mona Lisa with two jade green eyes; for what "Red Kite" has to offer, nothing could be more fitting. Sarah brings with her the versatility of Saint Etienne and reshapes it in the form she desires, in a folk/pop with multiple nuances, she is a singer who has always made grace and elegance her most powerful weapons and her new manifesto, her game of seduction, because "Red Kite" reveals itself to be just that, listen after listen. It can't help but be a collection of refined harmonies and skillful stylistic contaminations, delicate and apparently homogeneous but in reality lush and of great evocative power. An ode to femininity, "Red Kite" lends itself very well to being interpreted in this light; passions, desires, wit, irony, sweetness, subtle mystery, Sarah is the perfect medium to express these delicate emotional balances with absolute class and credibility. It opens with a very languid "On The Swings," acoustic instrumentation, electronics that draw exotic and refined nuances; here Sarah is an enigmatic figure, a nymph, a shaman, a beautiful but elusive creature, but with equal effectiveness she knows how to personify a naïve and dreamy girl too, she does it with the light but touching "Underneath The Stars," a liquid and caressing melody, an idyll that remains so even in its description of its end. Every song on "Red Kite" has its little story to tell, genuine emotions to convey, from this point of view the peaks of the album are "The Mutineer" and "It's Never Too Late," two pieces of disarming tenderness, the first is a folk ballad enriched by beautiful vocal harmonies and string interludes, Sarah had never sung like that; perhaps only in "Hobart Paving," so many years ago, a voice so whispered, gentle, almost whispered, that almost surprises for the emotional power it manages to convey, "It's Never Too Late" instead offers fairy-tale atmospheres, piano and a bright and lively flute, and above all a phrase that, in its absolute simplicity, warms the heart and provides a slight shiver: "I don't care what they say you are, it's more important who you are." And then there are many other gems, the enveloping and nocturnal atmosphere "In The Dark," accompanied by a trembling ukulele, "Ragdoll," agile and cheeky, that winks a bit at some folkish episodes of Aimee Mann, "Hearts Are For Breaking," one of the few episodes dominated by electronics, which nonetheless manages to stand out from a Saint Etienne song for a more laid-back and distinctly vintage vibe and "I Close My Eyes," an ethereal lounge fantasy based on congas and vocal harmonies. Finally "Take The Silver," a delightful acoustic episode with a slight Irish touch; sounds and communicative simplicity that ideally take me back to another of my great and timeless icons, Kirsty MacColl, the one from "Electric Landlady," and this for me is the coup de grace, Sarah Cracknell has conquered me. Again. For the umpteenth time, with an album of absolute refinement, with high-level songwriting and a sound crafted in the finest details, with an impressive array of instrumentation and musicians; yet "Red Kite" sounds simple, at times almost bucolic, many of its songs would be perfect even played with a simple acoustic guitar, in front of a campfire. It's just a shame about choosing as the launch single the weakest and pleasantly playful episode of the album, "Nothing Left To Talk About," for the rest this woman never stops surprising me, just when you think you've reached the climax she redefines her own boundaries. 5 stars also for "Red Kite," just like "Lipslide" and 70% of Saint Etienne's production; I am not impartial, I have never been nor aspire to be, but I am convinced of it in the most absolute way. Ever since I first listened to "Tales From Turnpike House" I realized I had found something extremely precious, something that would remain, destined to leave an indelible mark, and with "Red Kite" this bond of mine is renewed and strengthened; it reaches, at least until the next episode, a perfect closing of the circle. I think of "Words And Music," the last album of Saint Etienne, something almost diametrically opposed to this, on one side "I've Got Your Music" and "Last Days Of Disco," on the other "On The Swings" and "The Mutineer"; Sarah Cracknell is one and only, wonderful in any guise she proposes herself.