Everything but the Girl Album: “Walking Wounded”

Unlike most other bands that would either stick with a winning formula or gently move into another direction progressively, Everything But The Girl has leaped into the competitive genre of electronica with surprising results. The dance scene is already suffocated with an array of choices but EBTG has managed to hold their own with gusto and sensitivity. While the lyrical content has stayed true to the band's writing artistry, their sound has definitely moved onto another plain which not only complements the melodies within, but also Tracey's intimate story telling. Highlights of the album include the heart wrenching, "Single"; sparse drum and bass outing of "Walking Wounded"; the reflective "Good Cop Bad Cop" and the melancholic "Mirrorball". Flawless vocals, tight complex rhythms. The marriage of electronica and human emotions has never been so personal and beautiful.

...among other places. "Walking Wounded" ranks as one of my favorite albums of all time.

I was a late adopter of EBTG falling in love with their most recent release ("Tempermental" in '99), and then devouring their work backwards. EBTG's sounds have morphed very significantly since the 80's but I would say that "Tempermental" and "Walking Wounded" are quite similar (Tempermental is my personal favorite). This band is always at the razors edge of innovation. As evidence, this album could be considered "modern" if released today despite its being almost a decade old.

Similar to "Tempermental" in theme, this CD is even more melancholy; centered around the pain in losing love, coming to grips with a new life, and suffering the understandably conflicted feelings of blame, optimism, and nostalgia as a newly single woman...

Aside from the extraordinarily addictive rhythms, the asymmetrical tempo of percussion and base, the ominous sounding samples that pepper this entire album, it's the voice of Tracey Thorn that stitches everything together, softening it, warming the clinical into the comfortable...as I note in the title of this review, this is one of those few electronic CD's that, despite the occassional speed in tempo, I take to bed with me.

Every song on the album is worth getting acquainted with, although my favorites are:

"Single"...if this isn't THE SONG to listen to post-breakup to stir your emotions (as if they'd need any more rousing)...

"Before Today"...just as with "Single", this song shares the same theme but is laid against more determination (vs. resignation); much faster, and less likely to make you...well, let's just say it's less likely to make you feel very emotional (forgive me, but I'm a man and would rather not be advertising the potential of this song to "make you cry").

"Walking Wounded"...erratic electronic tempo (which may be an intentional reflection of the kind of conflicted and pained emotions she attempts to convey in her lyrics) set against hauntingly beautiful vocals.

"Good Cop Bad Cop"...i almost always forget to play this song when I'm listening to this CD (it's track 9); just a gem of a song. Very simple lyrics (almost all hook) set to a background that oscillates between near silence, and machine-gun fast percussion.

I really couldn't say enough good things about this album. For those of you who've only heard what's been played on the radio, and love it, absolutely buy a CD from this group. I guess the only question would be "which one". As I mentioned earlier, "Tempermental" is my favorite album of theirs, but not by too wide a margin.

If you find yourself absolutely in love with this type sound I'm afraid I won't be much help in finding you a close match, although consider checking out "Zero 7", their new album "When It Falls" is a fantastic (albeit slower) type sound with similarly beautiful vocals against modern and interesting rhthyms.

Hope this helped.

This is one of the best albums of the 1990's. If you thought major labels couldn't put out creditable artistry then you were wrong. After EBTG's massive reinvention as a cutting edge dance music act "walking wounded" finds the duo at the full helm of this new direction. Not since New Order had I heard electronic dance music this human and this senstitive. At the peek of the dance/electronica 90's explosion, when bold and adventurous sub-genres were mutating like viruses and the human had fully re-taken the machine along came Everything But the Girl. Here they add even more soulful, existential, thoughful lyrics about love, loss, and urban life. And underneath lies a breathtaking arrangement of truely cutting edge and even avantgarde electronic dance music. A total classic.

"Walking Wounded" is a bridge. A bridge that took EBTG from their pop-bossa nova roots, to the undoubtadbly ass-kicking house of trip-hop, ambient, lounge and adult pop. "WW" is a mixture of EBTG's past and future, a CD that explores the newly discovered by EBTG, clubland, and stands out as a classic trip hop album that any self-respected trip hop fan should have. Best songs from the album: Single( in which Massive Attack's influence from "Protection" is clear),Walking Wounded, Before Today and Wrong.

Gr8 CD. Get it now!!!

Walking Wounded still ranks as EBTG's best and first foray into melding techno with Tracey's buttery voice. It's eminently hummable but there is enough variety that you don't get anesthetized by the beats. I dig Temperamental too, but it sounds a little rehashed. Walking Wounded and the Acoustic record are absolutely the best works to come from the band.