Buzzin' Fly Schallplatten & CDs

Review: By the time they released "Amplified Heart" in 1994, Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn had spent a decade churning out admired but relatively commercially unsuccessful "lite-jazz" albums. Then, on the back of a string of on-point club remixes (Todd Terry's chart-topping version of "Missing" included), the set surprisingly became a runaway success. To celebrate the album's 25th birthday, "Amplified Heart" has been given the audiophile reissue treatment. It suits the album's gently breezy, emotion-rich feel, with Thorn's evocative, lovelorn vocals perfectly matching Watt's sunset-friendly blend of acoustic guitars, soft-touch double bass, trip-hop style beats and Balearic-minded electronics. It remains one of the duo's greatest albums and should be in every discerning listener's collection.

Review: Astonishingly, almost 14 years have passed since the release of Everything But The Girl's previous - and many assumed final - album, 'Temperamental'. Since then, husband-and-wife team Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn have delivered plenty of solo music rooted in deep house, nu-disco and contemporary synth-pop, and it is those sounds - along with nods to their acoustic past - that dominate Fuse, their surprise new album. While the set undoubtedly feels fresh and contemporary, the key ingredients that made their music so alluring - not least Thorn's distinctive, world-weary lead vocals and introspective lyrics - remain front and centre. The results are uniformly impressive, with highlights including the slow-motion, piano-laden r&b-pop of 'Run a Red Light', the sub-heavy, garage-influenced brilliance of 'Nothing Left To Lose' and the glossy IDM-pop shimmer of 'No One Knows We're Dancing'.