Saint Etienne: “Hug My Soul” (Heavenly)

No doubt millions of rabid Saint Etienne fans would love to get their arms around Sarah Cracknell’s, ahem, soul but as the sinister red herring of a string-arranged intro suggests, they might well get more than they bargained for and find themselves wrapped up tight with a demon rather than an angel. An undercurrent of darkness always shadows the too-good-to-be-true heavenliness of Cracknell’s vocals and ‘Hug My Soul’ hints that behind the pop sweetness lurks a dangerous despair.