Tracey Thorn is back.
Okay, for some of you of my generation there may be a moment's hesitation upon hearing that news so let me explain.
Everything But The Girl's 1984 debut was the sort of album my friends and I gravitated around in 1986 or so. The US debut version was a bit different and the original UK version, Eden, was the sort of sublime English pop that appealed to those of us who were already hooked on Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, and The Blue Nile. It was easy to find on import CD or LP in the D.C. area provided you were shopping at a decent store.And it was the sort of shared secret that one didn't dare lay on just anyone; not so much a badge of hipness but a signifier of a certain mindset.
That album paved the way for my love of The Sundays, for example, despite not sounding much like The Sundays, but the Englishness was what I was drawn to.
Around that time, I stumbled across the seminal Pillows & Prayers compilation which contained work by Everything But The Girl, as well as solo tracks from both band members (Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt). It also featured a track from Tracey's Marine Girls project.So, albums like Idlewild secured the band a listening audience in American indie/college rock circles, and gradually Everything But The Girl became a tiny bit more polished.
After having a surprise dance hit with a remix of 1994's "Missing", the band briefly changed styles for two albums and probably gained some new fans.
However, I'd be lying if I didn't say I was not a fan of those two albums.
So, in another surprise, Tracey Thorn is not only back but she's back on American indie label Merge Records!
And the good news is that she sounds fantastic!
My first reaction to this new track, "Oh, The Divorces!" was that Tracey sounded a bit like June Tabor.
It's an older and fuller version of that same English girl who wowed us on tracks like "Frost and Fire".
I can't wait to hear the full album, titled Love and Its Opposite, and it's out in America on 18 May 2010 and 17 May 2010 in the rest of the world.
For now, check out Tracey's Merge page and feel free to download this lovely song.
Download an MP3 of "Oh, The Divorces!" by Tracey Thorn.