"Let's Kiss and Make Up" is a song by

The Field Mice The Field Mice were an English indie rock band on the independent record label Sarah Records. They had top 20 success in both the singles and albums UK Independent Charts. Career The Field Mice initially formed as a duo from South London subur ...

from their 1989 album, ''

Snowball A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be a large ...

''. It is better known in the form of Saint Etienne's

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of 1990, which retitled it "Kiss and Make Up" and was released as a single.

Saint Etienne version

Saint Etienne were "drinking buddies" with Michael Hiscock from The Field Mice. The group recorded two demos of this song in their first studio session in January 1990, with

Moira Lambert Moira Lambert is a British singer and recording artist. She is probably best known for her collaboration with the electronica group Saint Etienne on the Neil Young cover "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (which went Top 40 in the UK and to No 1 in ...

on lead vocals. Notably, they would go on to record with her what would become their first hit single, "

Only Love Can Break Your Heart "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and activist Neil Young. It has been covered by many bands. Genesis and recording The song is the third track on Neil Young's album ''After t ...

," in that same session. The first demo of "Kiss And Make Up" was released as a bonus track on the group's 2009 release, ''Foxbase Beta'', a remix of their 1991 debut album, ''

Foxbase Alpha ''Foxbase Alpha'' is the debut studio album by English band Saint Etienne, released on 16 September 1991 by Heavenly Recordings. The album was recorded in a style which drew on the club culture and house music of the time, but also incorpora ...

'', the second demo was released on the 25th anniversary vinyl boxset of same album. A re-recorded version of "Kiss And Make Up," with New Zealand singer Donna Savage of

Dead Famous People Dead Famous People are a New Zealand indie pop band formed in Auckland, active from the latter half of the 1980s onward. Dead Famous People are still active today, Savage using various collaborators, with a new album being recorded in Auckland Ne ...

on vocals, was released in 1990 by

Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

as the band's follow-up single to "Only Love Can Break Your Heart." This version can be found on several compilation albums. "Kiss and Make Up" does not feature on the original UK version of ''Foxbase Alpha'', but does feature on the US release. The US release contains a fourth version of the song, re-recorded with Sarah Cracknell on vocals. Cracknell had recently joined Saint Etienne as the group's full-time vocalist.

Critical reception

In an 2016 retrospective review, Justin Chadwick from Albumism described "Kiss and Make Up" as a "piano-driven house number". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

noted its "irresistible girl group pop". Upon the release, Selina Webb from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' found that Donna Savage "lends her husky tones to this moody swayer", adding that "this, despite its only footshuffling

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

appeal, should take them closer to crossover success." Jack Barron from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote that Saint Etienne's new single is "totally addictive", "setting a very white

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

female voice against a chugging bassline." Another editor noted, "This ''is'' mellow. A product of house-tuned bodies slowing down even further than the

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

shuffle and spliffing up to a soft skanking rhythm." A reviewer from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' commented, "These are the people who brought us the brilliant dance version of old hippy

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

's "

" tune. This, their second single, is a house

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

cover of a tune written by some weedy indie group called

(!). Incredibly girlie and irritating, but there's something quite "appealing" about it."

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Robert Wratten and Michael Hiscock; except where indicated. * 7" - Heavenly / HVN4 # "Kiss and Make Up" – 4:09 # "Sky's Dead" (

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, Wiggs) – 3:02 * 12" - Heavenly / HVN4 12 # "Kiss and Make Up (Extended Version)" – 6:19 # "Sky's Dead" (

, Wiggs) – 7:32 * 12" - Heavenly / HVN4 12R # "Kiss and Make Up (Midsummer Madness Mix)" – 8:19 # "Kiss and Make (Midsummer Dubness Mix)" – 7:10 Note:

Pete Heller Pete Heller is an English electronic and house music producer from Brighton, England. Biography He is recognised in the dance community for his solo work, and his remixes with frequent collaborator Terry Farley. As a duo, they have rel ...

- Producer, Additional Keyboards, Additional Programming * CD - Heavenly / HVN4CD # "Kiss and Make Up" – 4:09 # "Kiss and Make (Extended Version)" – 6:19 # "Sky's Dead" (

, Wiggs) – 7:32

Charts

References

{{authority control Songs about kissing Saint Etienne (band) songs 1990 singles 1989 songs Heavenly Recordings singles