Perfect for when you want to feel what it was like to try on jeans at the Gap or Banana Republic in the late '90's.
Tracey Thorn's career is so varied and rich. I was surprised by the subtle, minimal electronica but it works really well. It's a satisfying contrast to her haunting vocals and leaves me feeling some kind of way. I'm really impressed with how such a drastic shift in instrumentation doesn't feel like a lark, but a fully realized vision that's also alive with a sense of discovery. I can hear how this record bridges singer-songwriter and British house music in a way that has influenced a lot of millenial pop music that followed. Favourite song: Before Today
Back when I was in college, there was this dude who would come into the bar I worked at on a Friday night and play fucking 10 Neil Young songs in a row. He would also hit on girls by doing magic tricks. I remember how angry I got every time he made me listen to an hour of Neil Young because I was just trying to have a good time, and he fucking made me listen to this sad, soppy fuck who writes nothing but songs that sound indistinguishable from each other and never seemed to enjoy a happy moment in his entire like. Fuck that guy, and fuck Neil Young. 2/5
Everything but the fucking will to live after listening to this God awful piece of shit. I don't understand how they're on this list twice...at least. I recognised track 2, so good for them. If this was a footballer, itd be Emiliano Sala.
Never heard it before this but what a great glimpse into a special time in British music. Drum and bass mixed with trip hop and ethereal vocals. Immediately connects bands that I was listening to at the time such as Faithless (Dido's voice is very similar), Portishead, Tricky with this crossover album.
How lucky am I to have the opportunity to listen to all of this great music and appreciate artists that I may or may not have gotten to know if it was not for this 1001 list. The only number I think that I have heard from this duo is Missing - The Todd Terry remix, which is a classic dance hit in my mind. I like this album and it is very relaxing and for lovers of artists such as Air, Groove Armada or Massive Attack kind of music. If I was playing at Stella Polaris I would definitely play this.
29/10/2020 Listened in block room - talking to Jake Really enjoyed this album, way more than I thought I would. Early DnB influences mixed with vocals. Song repeatedly singing "are you happy being single?" attacked me personally. Almost a 5 but not quite.
Wow, this was a really nice change of pace! Very cool ‘90s music, the vocals reminded me a bit of Natalie Merchant, the overall sound reminded me of Massive Attack. Really dug this, very chill all the way through. Favorite tracks: Before Today, Single, Walking Wounded, Flipside, Mirror Ball. Album art: The picture is pretty simple, but the text elevates it significantly, especially the Japanese characters. I was expecting some kind of vaporwave type project based on the cover, and honestly it’s not too far off. 4/5
A very elegant album. I had their first (US) release from ’84 and while I liked the acoustic & jazzy feel, I think they were smart to move to this down-tempo, D&B sound which as all the rage in 95. The singles are good, the lyrics are bleak and I like the cover. It fades a bit after Walking Wounded and after two listens, I would have given 3 stars, but somehow, I managed to listen to the opening 6 tracks a third time.
Ok, so a few pages back I said "I also rate EBTG. None of their albums are a total smash, but there's always something interesting happening that I can enjoy". I retract my statement, because upon revisiting, this one is their smash. Within a few years, they'd got from folk, to jazz-pop, to indie rock, to synthpop. Now they slide effortlessly into the downtempo/trip-hop craze. Tracey Thorn had featured on Massive Attack's second album with great results. Cynical people might say they were just changing their sound to chase whatever seemed popular. But the results don't lie, and this album has a great carefully managed electronic palette that doesn't sound cheap and dated like the work of many other "pop turned synth" artists. Thorn's vocals gel so well with that sound. "Mirrorball" is a weak link, and the two remixes included on the original album are doing nothing for me.
This opens with a stunner, and stays highly engaging. That's something of a surprise given the DnB bones. Perhaps I'm biased against looking at anything from the genre as masterful, because this comes close. I get a lot of the same feelings I got from Jessie Ware's latest (and in that case I 100% have a positive disco bias). There's a gentle ebb and flow, but Thorn's vocals carry the record. Can't say, however, that they would sound as nice over any old beat. The third-act introduction of acoustic instruments is extra poignant: It reinforces the tone of the preceding songs while demonstrating the collaborative nature of the duo's sound. Lingering on that sound instead of turning to remixes would have been it for me.
Coffee table drum & bass with smooth female vocals over the top - what's not to like? I only really know that "Missing" song from EBTG, so this was surprisingly trip-hoppy. I really enjoyed it! Fave track - the title track I think. "Single" was also great.
EBTG basically pioneered the English downtempo drum and bass sound and everyone but EBTG were influenced by their lounging in the coffee shop style. Although this doesn't have anything as good as their big hit Missing you, the first three songs set the mood nicely. However I found my attention lagging for the rest of the album as the drum and bass in every song started to meld together.
Listenable 90s English techno with a nice vocal. Simple arrangements, lovely chord progressions, beats very much of that era. Tracey Thorn's voice here is as rich and lovely as ever. I don't think this phase of EBTG's career really touches the more jazz-pop stuff they made back in the 80s, which now seems a lot less dated than the techno. This album was pleasant enough to listen to, but overall unremarkable. Fave Songs: Wrong, Before Today, Walking Wounded
Suena noventero y supermoderno a la vez. Avantpop y trip hop revolucionado, casi house en ocasiones. Para volver a él en cualquier momento, pega con todo y da muy buen rollo siempre.
Actually dug it a lot. Good beats and mood, nice to chill to. Give it a re-listen someday to favorite some songs.
I really enjoyed this album. Was not expecting it to be as synthy as it was but I liked that. Reminded me of some other bands currently so almost a timeless sound. My favorites were Before Today and Wrong. Interesting album cover. I'm assuming it's the lady who sings the songs but the band would indicate no women were involved so there is a paradox.
Remember my cousin listening back to this in like 2001... I was never big into DnB but this album is so sweet, it's like a mix of the chillest Aphex Twin beats or Shinichiro Yokata with some soft singing Annie Lennox. Fucking rules. And holds up.
Super fresh sounding when released, little bit of drum n bass bandwagoning but still a top drawer album
The combo of the rhythm and Tracey Thorn's voice via a pop record is pretty magical. Some great songs here, I look forward digging into this more after consuming the limited Marine Girls material. Fav songs: Big Deal, Before Today and Single.
90's Techno vibes in this British album. Downtempo and chill pop music that feels like it should be played at the end of a long night out. Glad I discovered this album!
I really enjoyed this album, I should start using the notes because I can never remember what to say
Hard to pick favs because they're all pretty similar. // Favs: Flipside / Big Deal Score: Decent 4
Vocals like Cher, but better music in the background. Actually really enjoyed this, good music to work to.
Really enjoyed this album. I was familiar with the singles so it was cool to go through and listen to the less popular songs. Love the balanced use of acoustic and electronic instruments. A great album to listen to with headphones… when all else fails, just concentrate on the haunting melodies and lyrics. A great find!
Very easy listen with atmospheric vocals and instrumentation. Great for a listen with the lights off or on a night drive. Relaxing in the best way
Slightly generous 4 maybe, but I like how this seems to naturally fuse pop with 90s electronic music. Very of its time, but feels authentic
I think above average in general. Some of it reminded me of ape escape for some reason, which is never a bad thing.
Damn this is not what I expected at all. This is awesome. I really wish I'd listened to all of it before. Concrete high 4.
This is a really nice listen. Played is several times while working today and it seemed ideal for keeping the stress levels down and productivity up. The smooth songs kept making me think of Sade with a dance vibe. Really chilly 90s music that I’ll be happy to hear again.
I really enjoy the Everything But The Girl tracks that I already know, and always intended to expand my library...so glad that 1001 compelled me to do that today. This album's tracks have that electronic, dance style is what I know (and like) from EBTG. So, I enjoyed the groove throughout the day.
I've always loved the song "Missing," but I never dug deeper into Everything But the Girl. I should have. I love Tracey Thorn's voice and I love the music with her voice. I would have played this a lot.
I hadn't listened to EBTG much before and was pleasantly surprised. I loved the electronic production of this album, and it caused me to dive back into some of my 90's drum-and-bass favorites. It has a good range of sounds but nothing that really jumped out at me as a must-repeat-listen track.
Interesting because I have never heard of this band before, and it is a decent album. It feels very 90s and I appreciate it, but I am also not a huge 90s fan
Laadukasta ja toimivaa chillailua taustalle. Ehdottomasti seuraukseen, mutta mitään ylivertaista ei levyltä irronut.
Didn't pay super close attention to this album, but the beats were decent. Worth a few listens, not too bad.
That first tune is fucking unreal. Last one too. The rest of it is kind of filler. It sounds like most of it could be used to show the passing of time in Love Actually.
Familiarity: 0/10 Notes: a unique and original voice at the time, this album feels ahead of it's time based on release, but not quite my cup of tea. Hit me up in a year and I'll give it another go. Real Rating: 6.7/10
Favorites: Single, Before Today, Walking Wounded, The most successful album for the duo. Incorporates elements of house, downtempo and electronica.
Pleasant. I like the vocals and the soothing electronic vibe... when it's good it's really good. However, much of the album is just okay, not enough hooks to keep me coming back.
Chill album. Songs do end up kind of blending together. First two tracks are the best. 7/10
The heart remains a child is as straightforward as a song can get. Good beats. Not too techno-y.
This is a surprise album. Great beat, lyrics and smooth songs! I have never heard of this band and keep trying to compare the lead singer 👩🎤 to someone else I’ve heard. Sade? Merchant? You tell me?
Some nice tracks on this one, enjoyed a fair amount of it. Too inconsistent for anything more than a 3
Le he tenido que dar varias escuchas. Esconde mucho más de lo que parece. Hay enfoques interesantes y un acercamiento tremendo a la extrema tristeza, esa difícil de explicar. Primer acercamiento a esta banda y ganas de seguir explorando. Le daría un 7 y pico, solo que el 8 se le queda lejos.
Some nice production and chilled out dance vibes but not particularly attention grabbing.
An album that I would never listen to. I appreciate it. (5/10) Favorite Tracks: Walking Wounded, Before Today
The production and sound design here are amazing, feels super comfy at times, or cerebral at others.
this one really straddles the line between a 2 and a 4. it was electronically innovative, especially for its time and the lyrics really spoke to me but i don't think you could write more sterile melodies if you tried. i guess my scale suggests a 3.
Her voice is pleasant. I'm not sure I would ever choose to put this on, but good for them. Best track: Wrong
Enjoyed this more than I disliked....make sense?? Some great tracks, but others were not so good.
17th August 2021 Listened on my phone throughout the day while working. Pleasantly surprised me, I know them for Miss You which is far poppier than this. This is trendy and far more of a beat.
I know I've heard this before, at least a single or two from it, but can't remember anything about it. Was one of those bands that got a lot of late night rage play in the 90s. Ok yeah electronica, bit of a mix of that kinda scungy UK techno sound but not as rank, and the singer is jazzy. I hate people who describe things as "chill", but it's bang on here. It's not bad, but the entire album is summed up in the first couple of songs and still goes for another 45min. I guess this would be a nice soundtrack to a groovy funky hipster people cafe? tbh I want to give it a 4, but it falls short on holding my interest. 3/5.
Sade-style jazz-pop smoothness. More electro than Sade, a nice hybrid between Massive Attack trip hop and the smooth Jazz described above. The vocals are gorgeous, but the whole package strikes me as a little soul-less. Could this be the ideal dinner music album? Quite possibly. 3 stars
nowhere near as terrible as the last album. nice beats but she's got a fucking annoying voice. at least i didn't have to listen to that fucking awful song about sitting on the bonnet of a car.
Some absolute bangers on here and a bunch of hidden gems. Production seems a little thin but I guess that could be down to being exposed to much richer mixes in more recent times. Still a lot of fun!
Good singing, although Tracy Thorn always seems a little icy and emotionless even though she sings about emotions. The bleeps, break beats and electronics is good and of its time. For 90s/2000s dinner parties alongside Beth Orton's Trailer Park and Zero 7.
Tämä oli tuttu bändi ainoastaan nimeltä ja Missing-hitistä. Levyllä oli omat positiivisetkin hetkensä, mutta pääosin musisointi oli tylsähköä tunnelman maalailua. Tykkäsin kyllä toisaalta laulajan äänestä ja aikakaudelle verrattain modernista soundista. Peruskolmosella mennään. Tuskin tulen tämän levyn pariin silti palaamaan enää.
Was an interesting listen but I don't typically enjoy this genre. Was moody and mellow without being boring.
Well, I have been on a journey with this album today. I had heard the name Everything but the Girl but I really didn't know anything about them. I didn't get a particularly good feeling from the cover art last night. I woke up early to get some work done this morning. I put on my headphones and pressed play. The mellow, danceable beats and smooth vocals were a great accompaniment to my workday. Made it all the way through the album and pressed play again. Still good. And then...I took a walk outside with it and it was much less interesting. Maybe the ear pods I wear when I'm walking give me less bass than my at-home headphones and that was the issue. Maybe the music is better as background than as my main focus. Maybe three times in a day was too much. They'd somehow lost their luster one way or another. Anyway, this is pretty good electronic-pop, but maybe just in small doses.
Finalement en fin de journee ca ma vraiment motive. 3.75 electro pas pire pantoute. Ca aide a garder le focus
I read Tracey Thorn's Bedsit Disco Queen bio last year and it was pretty good, and am really keen to read her latest one about Lindy Morrison. Her Marine Girls stuff is great but then it all went far too 80s jazz-lite. Then post-Massive Attack's Protection it all went trip hop lite. The sound of young professional dinner parties in the second half of the 1990s. Listening to it now, it's not terrible, just not that interesting and a bit samey song-after-song
Following the success of "Missing," the duo devote their shift from sophi-pop to dnb / downtempo, which really matches their style: vocals reminiscent of downtempo classics like Portishead. For anyone missing that style, "Mirrorball" is a great transitional track, like sophi-pop using dnb tools. There's a trend with this album, and maybe for the album as a whole, but several of the tracks are repetitive and feel like they're on a 15 second loop until the last minute or so with some cool instrumental piece. "Flipside" and "Big Deal" are the biggest examples. Meh, I still like the tracks, even if I choose to just listen to their hits. Favorites: Before Today, Wrong, The Heart Remains a Child, Walking Wounded
I found listening to this pretty painless but a lot of the delivery was a little too smooth jazz for my taste. What I picked up of the lyrics seemed pretty well formed.
Nie dość że ogólnie to jest jakiś randomowy średniak, to jeszcze słuchało mi się nieprzyjemnie. Nic odkrywczego, nie działa dla mnie nawet jako muzyka w tle.
Pierwszy utwór nawet mnie zaskoczył nowoczesnością dźwięku, ale później wróciliśmy do lat 90 i nic specjalnego.
Relaxing tracks. Soft vocals and toned down arrangements. Nothing gripping, but a solid record. I quite enjoyed it, but didn't find anything particularly memorable. Highlight: Big Deal
Pleasant sounds and chill vibes, backed by solid vocals, while great at conveying emotion and setting the mood quickly become same-y and blend into one another, causing the album to feel like it's overstaying its welcome - and that's the original release, not even taking the deluxe edition's additions into account. So in the end while it's something I'd love having on in the backgroudn from time to time, I struggle to see anything too exceptional or distinguishing here at work. Highlights: Before Today, Walking Wounded
Fairly decent trip hopish pop. There were some really interesting sounds here that I hear in later Radiohead and Röyksopp, but the delivery is often so bland that it just doesn’t stand out to me.
Наконец-то мне попался альбом, который я уже слушал. Для меня он оказался скучным и не цепляющим, хотя начало было многообещающим.
Was very excited to hear this but kinda disappointed. Sounds good but feels like a real lack of substance
This would be good to take a nap to in spite of not really being my cup of tea. It's got that repetitive nature that I don't really dig that much, but I do like the volcalist's voice and there is some good musicality there
“Walking Wounded” by Everything But the Girl (1996) Electronic jazz/pop, chiefly interesting for its innovative and highly contrasting sound textures, but limited by the underwhelming melodies, with their restricted tonal range and and performed with an airy reverb-enhanced voice to match. Heavy emphasis on synthetic drums and bass lines, dynamically stark. Lyrics show moments of cleverness, but seem detached from the music, as if musical compositions and lyrics on each song were two separate projects This is done to an even comic extent on “Good Cop Bad Cop”—really funny, with Thorn lazily complaining about her bad feelings while Watt is making little fart sounds on his gizmo, assisted by his favorite speedy snare roll thing. I laughed my butt off. Some electronic sounds are used rather frequently, as if Watt needs a bigger bag of tricks. Not unpleasant to listen to, but nothing profound here. I bet it sold well in Japan. 2/5
This is pretty chill/quiet heart stuff; it's no Cowboy Junkies though! !-D If it doesn't pick up a bit after song 4, probably only a 2. If there are some awesome songs, maybe a 3. I'd give it a 2.5, but not a 3. Might grow on me if I listened to it in the background a bunch, but not that compelling on first listen.
not a fan of 'easy listening' type music, I want my music to challenge me, hurt me, surprise me on a walk with a shank in the back etc. what's the point otherwise
Would never normally listen to something like this, I like parts of it but others feel a little sparse and don't really hold my attention at all. It's fine background music, but I don't find it to be particularly special.
all of the songs either sound like the background music for a game releasing in 2002 exclusively for the og xbox or the sad part in a 1998 romcom where the main characters have broken up and are reflecting on their relationship.
Jacob get the fuck off my MySpace account I agree with the stuff he said though. Pretty spot on actually. I don’t think it was awful, just an outdated genre/style that I have no attachment to. Again, listened on shuffle, couldn’t get round to them all and I’m writing this hours after I listened so that probably does make some sort of impact on the score. 2 star, there have been worse 2’s though
The review for electric light orchestra is actually for this. I also give electric light orchestra 3 stars. I liked it but alot of tracks sounded the same.
Fine, but so thin sounding. There's almost nothing to it. Flickery drums, "dance" music, but it would be impossible to move to. Her voice is so thin... Quite boring really.
Fine, but so thin sounding. There's almost nothing to it. Flickery drums, "dance" music, but it would be impossible to move to. Her voice is so thin... Quite boring.
Hajutonta ja mautonta tanssijytkettä. Ei uponnut. Ei erityisesti häirinnytkään, mutta kyllä siinä tuli silti kelloa ja biisilistaa katseltua, että milloin tämä loppuu että pääsee kuuntelemaan jotain edes jonkinlaisia tunteita herättävää.
This was fine "easy listening chill out" music, but I was just really bored. Someone else's review said that now they know what it was like to try on jeans at banana republic or gap in the 90s and that's TOTALLY the vibe. Not my cup of tea and the first song I really enjoyed was the one that autoplayed AFTER the album was over. Not a good sign.
seems quite dated. Modern disco, electronic? Good for that style, but not my cup of tea.
Very 90s, I thought this was going to be folk after googling the band so that was a surprise. Meh.
I love Tracy Thorne's voice especially the work she did with Massive Attack. However with the exception of the Todd Terry remix of Wrong, this album is largely dull. Walking Wounded is trip hop light an better suited as waiting room music than anything else. Musically sound and lyrically decent but hardly ground breaking stuff.
I appreciate that this band had some longevity it an industry that is notorious for producing one-hit wonders. He is a decent DJ and she is a decent singer. Good for them. But, this is the second of their albums on this list, and I couldn't figure out why the first one made it either, so . . .
Everything But The Girl has made some nice songs including a few classic ones. It is not clear to me why this album belongs to the 1001 list. It is well made, but I prefer the sound of their older albums. Just like today I had tried to get into this album at the time but never managed.
Nie moje klimaty, w tych czasach nikt takiej muzyki już nie słucha, przez co sprawia wrażenie bardzo staromodnej. Nie porywa, nie zaskakuje, właściwie nawet nie sprawia przyjemności lecąc w tle.