Saint Etienne have unveiled “Breakneck Hill,” an instrumental interlude from their forthcoming album, Home Counties, which is released on Heavenly Recordings on June 2nd.

Talking about “Breakneck Hill,” Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne said:

Breakneck Hill is one of several ‘interludes’ on our new album that capture facets of our youth spent in the Home Counties. Being able to run up and down the hill without dying or seriously injuring yourself was a kind of rites of passage for the local school kids. It was located in an atmospheric clearing in the woods and for a short period of my life it had a powerful morbid allure. I suspect no one ever actually broke their neck there but can still vividly recall the impact that the local lore had on my six year old self.

The album was produced by Shawn Lee of Young Gun Silver Fox, with support from Augustus (Kero Kero Bonito), Carwyn Ellis (Colorama, Edwyn Collins), Robin Bennett (The Dreaming Spires), Richard X (Girls On Top / Black Melody) and long-time collaborator Gerard Johnson (Denim, Yes). It was recorded in central London. Sarah, Bob and Pete commuted to the studio every day for six weeks. The cover of the album was designed by artist Scott King.

Saint Etienne have also announced a number of festival and headline shows over the summer, including a performance at the Royal Festival Hall in London, and a U.S. tour in the autumn.

The list of dates is as follows:

MAY
26th Hebden Bridge Trades Club
27th Oxford Common People Festival
31st Barcelona Primavera Festival

JUNE
2nd London Royal Festival Hall
3rd Cardiff Tramshed
4th Birmingham Town Hall
6th Bexhill De La Warr Pavillion
8th Newcastle Sage
9th Edinburgh Queens Hall
10th Sheffield City Hall Ballroom
11th Manchester RNMC Concert Hall

AUGUST
20th Glanusk Park Green Man Festival (2nd stage headline)

SEPTEMBER
24th Boston Paradise
25th Brooklyn Warsaw
27th New York Webster Hall
28th Washington U Street Music Hall
30th Chicago Park West

OCTOBER
2nd Seattle Showbox
4th San Francisco Fillmore
5th LA Fonda Theatre