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Asleep at the Wheels of Steel: Music for Lost and Other Films by Saint Etienne
Electronic · 2002 · 10 tracks

Asleep at the Wheels of Steel: Music for Lost and Other Films by Saint Etienne

Saint Etienne

February 2002 · Foreign Office

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Asleep at the Wheels of Steel is a departure from the polished, vocal-led synth-pop that defines Saint Etienne's mainstream output. Instead, it offers a window into the band's more experimental, atmospheric side. These ten tracks function as imaginary film cues, stripped of the pressure to provide a radio-friendly hook.

The sound is intimate and unhurried, characterized by the warm hiss of home-studio recording and the gentle pulse of vintage drum machines. It feels less like a performance and more like a private diary of sonic ideas.

Tracklist · 10 Tracks
01
United World
1:13
02
Lost
2:40
03
Dunnottar
1:16
04
Owl
2:39
05
The Montana Gang
2:25
06
Magic Child
3:20
07
The Chemicals
2:28
08
Garsington
2:20
09
Portrait of Beau
1:17
10
Christmas 1936
1:37
Moments Worth Listening For
the moment a brittle, high-pitched synth melody enters over a muffled, heartbeat-like kick drum on a mid-album sketch
a sudden transition from a lush, ambient pad to a sharp, syncopated breakbeat that disappears as quickly as it arrived
the use of a distant, unidentifiable vocal sample that sounds like a ghost calling from a neighboring room
Where This Album DepartsEach spoke is a trait. The orange shape shows where this album pulls away from — or holds to — the rest of the artist’s catalogue. Tap for more.

How does Asleep at the Wheels of Steel: Music for Lost and Other Films by Saint Etienne sound next to the rest of Saint Etienne's catalogue?

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This album stays in step with the catalogue across the board — no axis departs enough to be worth its own note. Hover the dots to see where each one sits.

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