EBTG’s ninth album crystalises love and retention in eleven tracks of drum and bass, trip-hop, and pop. Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt had one eye each on the nightclub, seemingly writing and producing with remix vultures in mind. The result is a straight, booming vignette of 90s evening-life. Thorn evokes the casual sadness of a night out from someone who’d rather be in―an injured and emotive performance vocalising our yearning protagonist’s interior monologue. ‘Walking Wounded’ comes close to house, but arrives with a lyrical vividness to remain equidistant to the ‘sophisti-pop’ of The Style Council. It remains a convincing advert for both vulnerability and resilience.
26/30
A favourite: ‘Flipside’
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