Good Humor (album)

Good Humor
Studio album by
Released4 May 1998
RecordedSpring 1997
StudioTambourine Studios (Malmö, Sweden)
Genre
Length43:35
LabelCreation
ProducerTore Johansson
Saint Etienne chronology
Continental
(1997)
Good Humor
(1998)
Places to Visit
(1999)
Singles from Good Humor
  1. "Sylvie"
    Released: January 1998
  2. "The Bad Photographer"
    Released: April 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]
NME4/10[3]
Pitchfork8.0/10[4]
(7.4/10 deluxe)
Rolling Stone[6]

Good Humor is the fourth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne. It was released on 4 May 1998 by Creation Records. The American spelling of humor is used in the title as the band were, according to Sarah Cracknell, "fed up with the 'quintessentially English' tag, so there was a bit of a backlash against that."[7]

The album was a departure for the group, who had been associated with the indie dance genre. Tiger Bay, their previous album, had added many acoustic and orchestral elements but still belonged to the synth-pop and dance genres, while Good Humor is more acoustic, having more in common musically with their 1993 hit single "You're in a Bad Way". Good Humor was demoed in the UK using synths and drum machines, but was recorded in Sweden under the guidance of Tore Johansson, who augmented their sound with a full band and a horn section.

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Weingarten, Marc (11 September 1998). Good Humor. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  3. ^ Mulvey, John (10 October 1998). "SAINT ETIENNE: Good Humor (Creation)". NME. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  5. ^ Robert Chrisgau review
  6. ^ Rolling Stone
  7. ^ O'Hara, Gail (2010). "How is it your least 'English' album?". In Good Humor, deluxe edition [CD booklet]. Universal Music.