EBTG will satisfy 'Temperamental' fans
Juergen Teller / ATLANTIC RECORDS
Ben Watt (left) and Tracy Thorn (right) make up Everything But The Girl. They have been popular in the U.S. since the 1994 release of 'Missing.'
Everything But The Girl: Temperamental
Studio: Atlantic Recording Co.
Tracks: 10
Running Time: 56:52
Genre: Club-pop
Rating: yyyy
Everything But the Girl consists of two artists, Ben Watt and Tracy Thorn. Tracy handles the vocals, while Ben focuses on the music, playing and programming everything himself. They achieved immediate independent success in England after their first release in 1982. Their name comes from a retro furniture store in hull, East Yorkshire, U.K., where Tracy and Ben lived in the 1980's.
Since then, they have built up a very large following among the clubs of the United Kingdom, with their drum 'n bass style. In 1994, they released Amplified Heart, and with the track, 'Missing,' achieved success in America. Their last release was the milestone, Walking Wounded, in 1996. Check out the massive website, conceived, written, and updated by the band, at ebtg.com.
Since the last release, EBTG has busy honing their skills. After a year of touring for Walking Wounded, the band went about in separate directions while working on new material. Tracy made appearances with Adam F and then with Ben and Deep Dish on the club hit 'The Future Of The Future,' released in 1998.
Ben has been extremely busy, DJing in clubs in both England and America. He has created his own successful session of deep house music in London and made several prominent drum 'n bass appearances there as well. He has also done production work on Beth Orton's Central Resevation, and released an autobiographical book, Patient.
This new release continues the line of drum 'n bass EBTG is known for. However, Ben and Tracy are more proud of Temperamental and the new ground it breaks. This new release offers more varied styles than the previous releases. It is marked by Ben's experiences DJing with house music.
Several tracks, 'Temperamental,' 'Five Fathoms,' and 'Lullaby of Clubland,' show the influence of deep house. Other tracks, like 'Blame' and 'Compression,' offer a jazzy drum 'n bass.
Several tracks stand out above all the rest, 'Five Fathoms,' 'Temperamental,' and 'The Future Of The Future' (the collaboration with Deep Dish), although all the tracks are good. The only downside to this CD is that many of the songs sound similar, and therefore lose their individual appeal. This CD is still a good follow-up to Walking Wounded, and will spawn many club favorites. It is good enough to satisfy fans for a few more years.
