Temperamental [CD]

New readers start here: Temperamental continues the long, slow evolution of Everything But The Girl, a band who've never been shy of exploring different styles and trends: jazz-flecked Eden, agit-pop on Love Not Money, coffee bar music with Idlewild, even big band sounds and smoooth shiny, shrink wrapped soul on Baby, The Stars Shine Bright and The Language of Life. Course it helps that Ben Watt is as talented a composer and arranger as any in the business, and the cool and lovely voice of Tracey Thorn could be singing the ingredients list on a cereal packet and you'd still want to listen. But what makes them special is they're keen observers of the human condition from blissed out lovers to drugged out club hedonism to marriages fallen apart and the restricted lives people lead because of poverty and fear. Temperamental explores new forms in rhythym and dance yet remains true to their old ethos - quite an achievement.

EBTG's 1999 studio album, Temperamental, is the most recent one they've released. They're currently on a break and it looks uncertain whether they'll return. So, 7 years later, how does the album sound?

"Five Fathoms" is a great opener. The melody is very catchy, Tracy Thorn's vocals as good as ever, and there's quite a range of instruments. The strings are particularly pleasing.

After a dancey start, "Low Tide of the Night" is more ambient. Thorn's vocals are really memorable. More strings, which add to the overall chilled feel, and there's a nice sax melody in there too. The track goes on a bit though, with little variation and mostly unexciting background melodies.

"Blame" ups the tempo considerably, with some very emotional melodies (particularly in Thorn's vocals, unsurprisingly). This has similarities with the title track from "Walking Wounded". Really, really good stuff here.

"Hatfield 1980" goes back to the ambient feel of the 2nd track. So far, the styles seem to alternate, which is rather confusing. The lyrics have a few similarities with "Lullaby of Clubland" (more on that later). It's an OK track, but not that exciting really.

Next up is "Temperamental", similar in style to "Five Fathoms" but in a minor key. The guitar riff is really catchy, and the vocals are great. Definitely one of the best tracks here.

"Compression" is the only track without lyrics, although there are still vocal effects. It's reasonably interesting, similar in style and tempo to "Blame", and there's a catchy bass riff. But at 7 minutes long with very little deviation from the main theme, it doesn't quite reach classic status.

"Downhill Racer" is another ambient track, but it's much better than the earlier tracks. It's shorter, but is a lot more memorable. As ever, the vocals are great. The whole track feels very warm and well thought out. It all fits together extremely well. A perfect afterclub track!

"Lullaby of Clubland" is next. This is a firm favourite for me, with excellent vocals and lyrics, a beautiful tune and an extremely memorable chorus. Brilliant!

The penultimate track, "No Difference", adds piano to the ambient style of earlier tracks. It's quite good, particularly the piano and the guitar. The brief guitar melody that plays almost 2 minutes in is a great addition. However, it goes on a bit - even for a 4 minute track.

Last up is "The Future of The Future" - which is also on "Junk Science" by Deep Dish, so you might already know it. I love this track - it's a great way to close the album, with an upbeat feel and catchy piano chords. Vocals are average in the verse, sometimes feeling a bit boring, but they really brighten up for the chorus: "It's so bright tonight" - which stays with you long after the album ends. Brilliant, and very memorable.

To sum up - I like this album a lot, but there are a few average tracks and the ordering of the tracks isn't very well thought out. There's no sense of continuation - it just feels like a bunch of dance tracks with a bunch of ambient tracks scattered between them. The distinction between each style isn't a major problem, but it does make me wonder if I'm listening to the same album by the time it ends. Still, most of the tracks are good. And, if you feel like trying out my preferred order, here it is...

1. Five Fathoms

2. Downhill Racer

3. Low Tide of the Night

4. Hatfield 1980

5. No Difference

6. Lullaby of Clubland

7. Temperamental

8. Blame

9. Compression

10. The Future of the Future

This CD is awesome. The music style is a real advancement since Walking wounded, it is WARMER, there is more deep house in it, there are some more "good dance clubs" oriented tracks here. Ben has learnt so much from drum and bass, house music experts, the music production is just perfect but warmer than in their previous release. The lyrics are also most about nightclubbing, but the view is so romantic¡¡¡ If you do not know nightclub culture you will not enjoy the lyrics I guess, I think they are very subtly crafted touching such themes like drugs, sex, nightclub solitude, individualism... I am amazed at such powerful lyrics such: "If I'm going home, I'd better change my clothes" "And it's so <<bright>> tonight, do you see those cars? Those signs?" Can you guess what brightness is she singing about? "I've got no coat. Are you on your own? When are you going home? Get into me" "When you're down and troubled you don't tell your friends, you don't tell your family, won't let them talk about me. I'm gonna let nobody down, down, down" or Five fathoms lyric: "I'll take you home, I'll make it easy. Love more. Love more." I'm sure she's meaning having sex when taking you home, but it's so subtle, it's expressing at the same time the difficulty of relationaships when going out at night. Tracy's tremendous, she's completely renewed in Temperamental track while remaining romantic, and serene in most of the other tracks. I really think this is a marvellous CD, a real 1999 music CD unlike most of the CDs populating the charts. It should appeal to nightclubbers, specially those in the gay scene (gays or heterosexual people) who tend to listen to more good club music and have already an insight about what she's singing.