Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
The meeting of minds is more than just connection and agreement, it is trust commended and followed through upon, even when a number of years have passed you can still find the moment where trust, commitment, and honour bound you together, then what follows was always meant to be, and to be certain.
That connection is a Fuse, an amalgam of interests, belief, unfettered and unconstructed pleasure, and perhaps in one of the finest examples of time being a mere construct in which some hide behind, but in which the driven find solace in which to weave the finest of all comebacks, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt unleash the physical prowess of lyric writing and music once more as Everything But The Girl flick the Fuse switch back on and illuminate the room around them.
A quarter of a century may have passed since the pair locked in musical ferocity and regaling tales of life, love, detachment, and values of a cinematic mind, but in the brand new, and soaring album Fuse that missed time is but a blink of the eye, a beat of the heart skipped and recaptured with combination of passion and human emotion of sincerity.
There has never been any doubt that the pair have conjured and delved into the very heartache of existence, that their lyrics have magnified the process of living day by day, and emotionally conquered, as well as eased, the passing of time when faced with the wrath of monsters we all endure in our thoughts; however it must be recognised that Fuse in particular is a structure of strength, a set of songs that tame the beast, but allows it to breath amongst us, and for that is arguably the finest recording from the duo to date.
Don’t let the time between studio albums fool you, this is a piece of art that has been waiting to be written for years, subconsciously being drafted, subliminally listening to the pulse of the Fuse in question, and ready at the exact right time in which to be acknowledged as an explosion of thought, attention and philosophical cool to which the pair have excelled within.
Across tracks such as Nothing Left To Lose, Caution To The Wind, No One Knows We’re Dancing, Interior Space, and Karaoke, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have delivered a seismic response to time, not taking it task, but informing it of its ruthlessness and constant devouring of the natural; and by doing so have placed before the public an album that is dramatic, free, untainted by Time itself…simply in a word, outstanding.
Everything But The Girl release Fuse on April 21st through Buzzin’ Fly/Virgin Music.
Ian D. Hall