Everything But The Girl
Amplified Heart

THE REVIEW

It's never easy to talk about a band that's been on the scene for over two decades. With so many albums released and so many emotions stirred in listeners, hitting the mark objectively is quite a challenge.
Moreover, discussing the changes in direction and the recycling attempts carried out during this time frame is a truly labyrinthine operation.
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt with "Amplified Heart" arrive at their seventh full-length album (excluding compilations and live recordings). The previous album "Worldwide" was, bluntly put, a misstep, and it seemed obvious to anyone that the road to decline had been taken.

They emerged artistically in 1984, on the wave of the rising new cool trend, associated with the likes of Working Week, Style Council, and Sade on the more commercial front.
This work, in a sense, takes us back to that period, and if "Eden" seems to be a unique gem, let's say we're in the realm of its slightly less successful follow-up "Love Not Money".
Velvety atmospheres imbued with melancholy and above all the always magnificent voice of Tracey Thorn sketching ten very pleasant tracks that plow gentle melodic lines combined with a taste of moderation rarely found in contemporary productions.
Ben Watt once again proves to be a classy musician even when tackling sweet vocals on "Walking Into You" and "25th December".
Truth be told, this album did not receive enthusiastic feedback. In 1994, we were deep in the grunge craze and the intimate atmospheres did not fit the era.
It did not receive enthusiastic feedback except for that "Missing", remixed in various versions and danced on dance floors worldwide. Here it is re-proposed at the end of the CD in its most famous version, the Todd Terry one, and truthfully it seems to clash with the thirty-eight minutes that precede it. If you will, it's a small preview of the techno-dub turn pursued soon after with the following "Walking Wounded". But that is another story.

For tonight, I stop here, I'm not going out: it's raining, it's cold, I'll stay at home by the fireplace on my comforting couch. The world is outside, and it can wait.
For tonight, I let myself be lulled by "Amplified Heart"