Everything But The Girl

Everything But The Girl - Profile

by Erick Mertz

published: 23 / 10 / 2015

Erick Mertz is by impressed dance pioneers Everything But The Girl's final two albums, 1996’s 'Walking Wounded' and 1999’s 'Temperamental', which have just been re-released in two CD editions, but finds dull the remixes that accompany them

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English duo Tracey Thorn and Ben Wyatt have been making music under the name Everything But The Girl since the early eighties. They have been inspiration to, as much as contemporaries of, many of the great wave in UK dance and club music. Their last two albums, 1996’s 'Walking Wounded' and 1999’s 'Temperamental', stood out as the duo’s curious breakthroughs, the sort of leaving on top reserved for the luckiest artists. EBTG fans have always thrilled in sultry, electronic grooves, overlaid with Thorn’s gentle and suggestive vocal styling. Wyatt, more of the musical backbone, crafts and produces an upfront sound that has the unique quality of straddling to feelings: he’s a master of the simultaneously danceable and ponderous track. This is thinking and feeling person’s dance music. These two albums, newly re-released and each with bonus discs, are a terrific reminder of how powerful that chemistry was (and perhaps is) and how in the wake of what passes for 21st century dance (thinking chill wave and the more protracted tribal house sounds) a little polish, a little savoir-faire might be welcome. If these two albums (or the band) are unfamiliar, by all means, here is your entry points. The bottom line on this from a purely re-issue angle is, like the band, love these two albums, but the bonus discs are only boons to EBTG collectors, those driving for the complete catalogue. Diving into these reminds me of the formula that used to work on singles, album track, two or three remixes, usually of varying flavour from the hyped up dance or tribal variation, usually followed up with something a little raw and dirty. That rarely comes through on these albums (although I’m willing to guess that EBTG draws a different host of remix artists) as almost every remix sounds over clean, and by that, uninspired. I stepped back and admired the Kenny Dope remix of 'Downhill Racer' and what J Majik VP did with 'Blame' on 'Temperamental'; as for 'Walking Wounded' there are four astounding demos ('Flipside' and 'Mirrorball' being the jewels). Otherwise, these feel like a whole lot of “club mixes” that provide very little in the way of variation.