Rating – 3 1/2 stars out of 5
Everything But the Girl gained an incredible amount of fame with their song “Missing” in 1994 on their Amplified Heart album. Much like their earlier music, it was an acoustic driven set and not until the Todd Terry club mix changed everything did anyone really take notice of the band except for the diehards. Their last album, Temperamental met with some success in the dance market and was released in 1999. Fast forward 24 years and the band has made a comeback with the 2023 record, Fuse. Let’s take a listen and see what we think.
Track 1: Nothing But Left to Lose (3:46) –
The lead track and the first song released out of the album. This is an excellent return to their dance form with expansive beats and Tracey Thorn‘s voice has gotten even more mature if that was a possibility. It moves quickly and has a great video to match. “Kiss Me While the World Decays” is a fantastic lyric. If this was the only song we got, I would consider it a success, but we have got more tracks to get through.
Track 2: Run a Red Light (3:39) –
This was the third track released out of the album (and still before the album came out in full). A lot more subdued at least at the beginning with the piano going through the motions. Ben Watt, the other half of EBTG does all of the music and lyrics here. I do enjoy how the music builds in this one and then backs off while still keeping some of the intensity. Then it tapers off at the end. Much like the title implies, it’s the kind of song you play late at night driving your car.
Track 3: Caution to the Wind (4:07) –
This was the second single after Nothing Left to Lose, and is a little bit similar to Run a Red Light with the musical layer building and the late at night car theme. But I actually like this song better than Red Light and enjoy the beat because of how strong the chorus is. With further plays, it might be the best song on the album. One could easily see an instance where at concerts these two tracks (Red Light/Caution) are played back to back since they just work together, almost in synchronicity.
Track 4: When You Mess Up (3:48) –
And then we run into a huge road block. This song is pretty troublesome. First, it’s totally different than the previous three songs. Second, it comes off like an old lady smoking a cigar (she even tells the “person” she’s talking with to have several cigarettes) and telling you it’s okay to mess up. Mess is a very accurate word here. She might hate that I’m giving advice when she messes up but here we are. The electronic voice change in the middle of the song makes it all that much worse. I will say one positive thing here but the blu-ray audio does help here some…but not enough to matter.
Track 5: Time and Time Again (2:51) –
Okay, whew we are back. This is more in vain with the first three songs. This is probably the song with the most potential that ultimately disappoints on the album for me because it doesn’t build enough on the layers. It also repeats weirdly into the song with the lyrics, “Call me when you feel like it’s time. When you feel like it’s time, call me.” That’s the same darn thing and it follows after with a slightly different lyric too (replace “Feel like it’s time” with “Made up your mind”). Three minutes is not up soon enough.
Track 6: No One Knows We’re Dancing (4:09) –
The fourth song that was released as a single, this one was released on the same week as the album. It starts with a good beat and who knew “Fiat Cinquecento” would be a key lyric in a 2023 song. Most of us know this car by the name Fiat 500, but I never understood the adoration of this vehicle at all. Thankfully, we are back to a really nice beat and honestly this song would better be placed near the beginning of the album as it gets kinda lost here sandwiched between “Mess” and the next song.
Track 7: Lost (3:25) –
Okay, this is getting down right disappointing. This song is another miss for me. Much like “Mess”, this song feels very lost. It’s what I like to call a gimmick song. When a band uses a word or phrase over and over again during the entire song. In this case, I lost my perfect job, I lost my mind, I lost my mother and I lost my mother (I’m repeating on purpose since the song does the same thing three times). Then she just lost it. As it so turns out, I lost interest in this song too.
Track 8: Forever (3:41) –
The intro of this song is really promising before losing some of its tempo and then builds towards the chorus. Another of the one or two songs that grow on you. It’s subdued and I feel it’s a prime example of a song that needs a “Club” or “Dance” Mix. Especially in the second half of the song, it feels restrained, ready to burst out. There is a pulse that just needs to be turned up a notch or two and then it would be fantastic.
Track 9: Interior Space (2:24) –
A piano intro is back and I couldn’t be sadder about it honestly. It’s also really short, and the title is weird. Is this about feng shui decorating or is it about what goes on inside our heads? By the time you might figure it out, the song is over. Let’s move on to the last track.
Track 10: Karaoke (3:54) –
I honestly want to like this track, but I seriously want to know where Tracey and Ben go to Karaoke at. Apparently it’s pretty boring and low-key. It’s like ordering a light beer on ice. Here in Texas, Karaoke tends to be a lot more lively. At least that is how I remember it from my up and down times from my entire 20’s which was spent in and out of those bars. The party never really gets started and this was a perfect song to throw into third gear, but it is clearly stuck in second. But I guess if you made it thru “Mess”, “Lost” and “Interior Space”, then maybe this is lively and a good outro?
Blu-Ray Audio
If you went the deluxe route, the listener also received a Blu-Ray audio disc that includes an Atmos 7.1 as well as a PCM mix. It’s pretty good and the mix does make full use of the surrounds though I don’t think you can aptly judge it like some of the $40 blu-ray audio discs that SDE Shop does since this is more of a “throw in” or “extra”. Is it perfect? Of course not, but I wish more bands would consider doing more of these on some level, especially with their deluxe version of the cds. While I think I would have bought the cd anyway, I was certainly more intrigued and felt I had to order at release. I got my money’s worth for sure.
Fuse overall did very well on the charts. It charted in the top 10 in several countries including the UK, Scotland, Switzerland, and the US (Dance/Electronica). It even got into the Billboard 200 at #116. However, it’s an album of two tales. There are honestly five songs (maybe 6) on this album that are very good to excellent. But then there are the other 4-5 songs which are not okay or mediocre but incredibly disappointing and a chore to listen to. Furthermore, most of the “hits” are in the first four songs of the album. That leaves a back half that will be largely ignored which is terrible for “Forever” which is going to end up being very underrated.
Furthermore, a lot of people when they hear Everything But the Girl think of the song “Missing”. However, they aren’t thinking of “Missing”, the LP tune. They are thinking of the club mix. This album needs alternative mixes, badly, say two or three of the lesser tunes at a minimum. I’d say if CD Singles/EP’s were still a thing we would get something, but they aren’t which is a shame. So while I do recommend this album on a sliding scale, it’s mostly for the nostalgia and to support Blu-ray audio which is not supported enough. Enjoy.
