Everything But the Girl’s Excellent Surprise Return, ‘Fuse,’ Picks up Right Where They Left Off 24 Years Ago: Album Review
variety.comJem Aswad Senior Music Editor For those without long memories, Everything But the Girl are a British duo that first emerged in the early 1980s as a sort of neo-jazz outfit combining Tracey Thorn’s virtuoso but downcast vocals and Ben Watt’s formidable guitar playing.
Over the next 15 years they morphed impressively through different styles — from Smiths-style jangly alt-rock to the slick pop of “The Language of Life” — but with 1994’s “Amplified Heart,” electronics began to enter their latest jazz-trio-ish incarnation.
And when house music producer Todd Terry’s dancefloor-driven remix of that album’s “Missing” became a surprise global hit, Watt immediately embraced the then-burgeoning drum n’ bass scene in the U.K.
and within months was behind the turntables for nearly all of the group’s live sets. The next two albums, “Walking Wounded” and “Temperamental,” evolved this sound, with beats and atmospheric keyboards creating the backdrop for Thorn’s increasingly soulful singing.
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