Everything But The Girl - Temperamental

Lately I listened to this album again, trying to discover if it worked only because the production tricks and the lyrics still made it survive, or if the production didn't work and the lyrics were not strong anymore, or any other permutation; you know, listening again to big selling pop-electronica albums that you have nearly forgotten can be a risky excercise. And well, it still works completely, at every level. Watt and Thorn talk about the city (London), about the feelings of isolation surrounded by people, the things they see, what they feel, what the city adds or substracts to human relations and human love - strangely, it could be the soundtrack to that Winterbottom beautiful masterpiece called 'Wonderland', if it didn't already have a gorgeous Nyman composition - and they do that with very cold rhythms: deep house blended with dance (where reverbs are only heard in Tracey's voice), ballads disguised as trip-hop (and the song with the most - depressing - self-pityness in the whole Thorn's catalog, 'Low tide of the night'?), a curious drum 'n bass number, and finally, to end up with an optimistic note, the best thing either they or Deep Dish have ever done, "The Future of the Future". Yes, it does not sound so revolutionary as "Walking Wounded" - where production tricks were exaggerated to give the most melodrama to the lonely feelings of the songs - but, listening to it 9 years later, you realize that very few acts could make that perfect blend of heartfelt songs and electronic touches. Extremely recommended if you live in a big city and need some songs that talk about you while you dance at them.