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Fuse (Everything but the Girl album)

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Fuse
Studio album by
Everything but the Girl
Released21 April 2023 (2023-04-21)
Recorded2021[1]
StudioRiverside Studios (Bath) and home studio
Genre
Length35:38
Label
Producer
Everything but the Girl chronology
Adapt or Die: Ten Years of Remixes
(2005) 		Fuse
(2023)
Singles from Fuse
  1. "Nothing Left to Lose"
    Released: 10 January 2023
  2. "Caution to the Wind"
    Released: 22 February 2023
  3. "Run a Red Light"
    Released: 14 March 2023
  4. "No One Knows We're Dancing"
    Released: 18 April 2023

Fuse is the eleventh studio album by British duo Everything but the Girl, released on 21 April 2023 through Buzzin' Fly and Virgin Records. It is their first studio album in almost 24 years following Temperamental (1999).[4] The album was preceded by the single "Nothing Left to Lose" on 10 January 2023,[5] followed by "Caution to the Wind", "Run a Red Light", and "No One Knows We're Dancing", in February, March, and April respectively.[6][7][8]

Background

[edit]

The duo began working on the album in March 2021, recording it in secret at both their home and a studio outside of Bath, England with the engineer Bruno Ellingham, with Tracey Thorn stating that they were "aware of the pressures of such a long-awaited comeback, so we tried to begin instead in a spirit of open-minded playfulness".[5]

Ben Watt told NME that they "wanted to come back with something modern-sounding. [...] We just wanted to make a piece of work that would sound great now in 2023. That was the driver." He also elaborated that Fuse is not "a pandemic album or a lockdown album – it just struck us that the time was right after 23 years of waiting", also echoing Thorn's statement that the intention was to be "a bit playful and experimental to see what happens. There wasn't a masterplan."[9]

Music

[edit]

The album contains a mix of electronic and acoustic tracks,[9] with a statement describing it as a "modern take on the lustrous electronic soul" that the duo produced before their 2000 hiatus.[10] The tracks "When You Mess Up" and "Interior Space" began as "improvised piano ballads" Watt recorded on his iPhone.[10]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Clash9/10[13]
The Guardian[14]
The Independent[15]
Mojo[16]
musicOMH[17]
NME[18]
Pitchfork7.7/10[2]
Slant Magazine[19]
Uncut[20]

Fuse received a score of 80 out of 100 based on 19 critics' reviews on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[11] Paul Simpson of AllMusic wrote that "the duo immediately make it clear that they aren't interested in dwelling in the past", as the album has "sparse, clear production", with Thorn's "roughened" voice adding "more emotional weight to her lyrics, which are as thoughtful as ever, yet especially relevant for the 2020s".[12] Lucy O'Brien of Mojo felt similarly, that Thorn's "voice is front, central and confidently clear in the mix. So too is their cleverly sculpted sonic overload, weaving in and out of evocative lyrical imagery and rhythmic flow".[16]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian felt that the duo "have absorbed the revolutions in dance and electronic music since their previous album in 1999, and shaped them into melancholic, finely detailed stories", concluding that it is "an album that manages to be different from anything they've recorded before yet perfectly in keeping with their past: a comeback worth waiting for".[14] Helen Brown of The Independent wrote that Fuse "makes a church of its elegant electronica: all vaulting arcs of yearning melody and glimmers of stained glass that dance upwards, to the familiar urban spire of Thorn's beautiful, hangdog voice".[15]

Robin Murray of Clash called it "a graceful, majestic, moving experience, one that dips into club tropes while illuminating pop at its iciest, and most arresting", as well as a "rich, atmospheric song cycle" with "the emotional heft of The Blue Nile and the production nous of Massive Attack".[13] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Laura Snapes described Fuse as a "moving, handsome album that tells a sophisticated story about recapturing innocence" and felt that Everything but the Girl had not significantly diverged stylistically from "where they left off, keeping their connection to contemporary club culture alive".[2]

Thomas Smith of NME stated Fuse is "how reunion albums should be done", calling it "the blueprint for any alt-leaning electronic act in the pop space" and finding that the duo "remain both aligned with the pulse and thump of their contemporaries and ahead of the game".[9] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone felt that the album "picks up right where Temperamental stopped, as if they're hitting play on a cassette they've kept on pause for 24 years. But they keep it fresh, using the latest digital effects to warp, filter, mutate Thorn's voice into a deeper, more dolorous instrument."[21]

Reviewing the album for MusicOMH, David Murphy opined that "the more prominent the beats, the less exciting the song. But this is Fuse's secret victory: if you don't pay attention, it's harmless background fluff, yet if you concentrate there are mysteries and subtleties to discover that demand repeat listens".[17] Writing for Slant Magazine, Paul Attard found there to be a "weary malaise" on the album, summarising that when it "is firing on all cylinders, it feels risk-averse, leaving one longing for an album that mines its gloomy outlook and ambiance for greater impact".[19]

On 25 April 2024, Everything but the Girl won the "Self-producing artist of the year" award at the Music Producers Guild Awards 2024.[22]

Year-end lists

[edit]
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Fuse
The Inquirer Best Albums of 2023 2 [23]
BrooklynVegan Best Albums of 2023 7 [24]
The New York Times Top 40 Albums of 2023 5 [25]
Mojo The 50 Best Albums of 2023 9 [26]
MusicOMH Top 50 Albums of 2023 12 [27]
Rough Trade Albums of the Year 2023 17 [28]
Irish Independent The Best International Albums of 2023 18 [29]
The Independent The 30 Best Albums of 2023 24 [30]
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2023 28 [31]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2023 46 [32]
Allmusic Favorite Pop Albums Placed [33]
Slate The 12 Best Albums of 2023 Placed [34]
Vulture The Best Albums of 2023 Placed [35]
"Nothing Left to Lose"
NME The 50 Best Songs of 2023 27 [36]
Pitchfork Best Songs of 2023 92 [37]
The Best Electronic Music of 2023 Placed [38]
Billboard The 30 Best Dance Tracks of 2023 Placed [39]

Promotion

[edit]

The album was preceded by four singles, the first of them being the celebrated "Nothing Left to Lose". EBTG announced they wouldn't play live but participated in many interviews and live Q&As events. The only live performance was recorded without public at BBC's Maida Vale studios in April 2023 and released digitally later in August, and physically for Record Store Day in April 2024.[40][41]

"Nothing Left to Lose", "Run a Red Light" and "No One Knows We're Dancing" were accompanied by a trilogy of music videos directed by Charlie Di Placido (known for his work with Kojey Radical and Jungle),[42] while "Run A Red Light" had an extra video recorded at the Maida Vale Session and directed by Edward Bishop. "Nothing Left to Lose" and "Caution to the Wind" were also remixed by Four Tet and Fka Flash and released as EPs.[43][44]

Commercial reception

[edit]

First single "Nothing Left to Lose" received radio rotation and entered several component charts, but missed the Official Singles Charts. It peaked at N° 1 at the Vinyl Singles Chart, N° 2 at the Physical Singles Chart, N° 40 at the Singles Sales Chart, N° 60 at the Singles Download Chart.

During its release week middle-week chart Fuse was leading for a N° 1 position at the Official Albums Chart,[45] but eventually peaked at N° 3, behind A Kiss for the Whole World by Enter Shikari and Live with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra by The 1975, and top 5 in several component charts. The album is their highest entry on the UK album charts to date.[46]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn, except where noted

Fuse track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing Left to Lose"3:44
2."Run a Red Light" (lyrics and music by Watt)3:39
3."Caution to the Wind"4:06
4."When You Mess Up"3:48
5."Time and Time Again"2:51
6."No One Knows We're Dancing"4:09
7."Lost"3:25
8."Forever"3:41
9."Interior Space"2:24
10."Karaoke"3:51
Total length:35:38
At Maida Vale EP track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing Left to Lose" (BBC Maida Vale Session)3:57
2."Run a Red Light" (BBC Maida Vale Session)3:24
3."When You Mess Up" (BBC Maida Vale Session)4:04
4."Single" (BBC Maida Vale Session)4:50
Total length:16:16

Personnel

[edit]

Everything but the Girl

Additional contributors

  • Bruno Ellingham – mixing, engineering (all tracks); programming (3, 4, 6, 9)
  • Ewan Pearson – programming (6)
  • Miles Showell – mastering

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Fuse
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[47] 39
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[48] 62
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[49] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[50] 19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[51] 46
French Albums (SNEP)[52] 52
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[53] 18
Irish Albums (OCC)[54] 42
Italian Albums (FIMI)[55] 50
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[56] 27
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[57] 57
Scottish Albums (OCC)[58] 4
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[59] 38
Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[60] 16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[61] 8
UK Albums (OCC)[62] 3
US Billboard 200[63] 116
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[64] 18
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[65] 17
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[66] 3
US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[67] 27

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Kaufman, Gil (10 January 2023). "Everything But the Girl Prep First Album in 24 Years, Drop Bouncy 'Nothing Left to Lose' Single". Billboard. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Snapes, Laura (21 April 2023). "Everything But the Girl: Fuse Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  3. ^ Empire, Kitty (23 April 2023). "Everything But the Girl: Fuse review – sleek, downtempo charms". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  4. ^ Jones, Abby (10 January 2023). "Everything But the Girl Announce Comeback Album Fuse, Share "Nothing Left to Lose": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b Corcoran, Nina (10 January 2023). "Everything But the Girl Announce First Album in 24 Years, Share Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  6. ^ Bloom, Madison (22 February 2023). "Everything But the Girl Share New Song "Caution to the Wind": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Everything but the Girl share new single 'Run A Red Light' from new album Fuse – Out 21 April". XS Noize. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Listen to Everything But the Girl's New Song "No One Knows We're Dancing"". Pitchfork. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Trendell, Andrew (10 January 2023). "Everything But The Girl return: "We wanted to come back with something modern"". NME. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b Buckle, Becky (10 January 2023). "Everything But The Girl release new single and announce details of first album in 24 years". Mixmag. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Fuse by Everything But the Girl Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  12. ^ a b Simpson, Paul. "Everything But the Girl – Fuse Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  13. ^ a b Murray, Robin (20 April 2023). "Everything But The Girl – Fuse". Clash. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  14. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (20 April 2023). "Everything But the Girl: Fuse review – still staking out pop's frontier after 40 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  15. ^ a b Brown, Helen (20 April 2023). "Everything But the Girl review, Fuse: Band's first album in 24 years shows a rekindled appetite for modern melancholy". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  16. ^ a b O'Brien, Lucy (18 April 2023). "Everything But The Girl Reviewed". Mojo. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  17. ^ a b Murphy, David (19 April 2023). "Everything But The Girl – Fuse". musicOMH. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  18. ^ Smith, Thomas (19 April 2023). "Everything But The Girl – Fuse review: how reunion albums should be done". NME. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  19. ^ a b Attard, Paul (18 April 2023). "Everything but the Girl Fuse Review: A World-Weary Comeback". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  20. ^ Some tastefully lightweight, pleasantly inessential filler ultimately make Fuse a minor late-career coda. [June 2023, p.26]
  21. ^ Sheffield, Rob (16 April 2023). "Everything But the Girl Pick Up Where They Left Off While Keeping It Fresh On Fuse". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  22. ^ Thorn, Tracey (25 April 2024). "OMG WE WON❤️". X. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Our pop music critic picks his best albums of the year". Inquirer. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Best Albums of 2023". The New York Times. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2023". BrooklynVegan. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  26. ^ "The Best Albums of 2023". Mojo. 9 December 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  27. ^ "musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2023". musicOMH. 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  28. ^ "Albums of the Year 2023". Rough Trade. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Ranked: The best international albums of 2023". Rough Trade. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  30. ^ "The 30 best albums of 2023, from Olivia Rodrigo to Lana Del Rey". The Independent. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  31. ^ "The 50 best albums of 2023". The Guardian. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  32. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". The Guardian. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Favorite Pop Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  34. ^ "The 12 Best Albums of 2023". Slate. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  35. ^ "The Best Albums of 2023". Vulture. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  36. ^ "The 50 Best Songs of 2023". NME. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  37. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2023". Pitchfork. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  38. ^ "The Best Electronic Music of 2023". Pitchfork. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  39. ^ "The 30 Best Dance Tracks of 2023: Staff Picks". Billboard. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  40. ^ "Everything But The Girl release new live EP, 'At Maida Vale': Listen". DJ Mag. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  41. ^ "At Maida Vale". Record Store Day UK. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  42. ^ Schube, Will (28 June 2023). "Everything But The Girl Shares Video For 'No One Knows We're Dancing'". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  43. ^ "Everything But The Girl's 'Nothing Left To Lose' gets Four Tet remix: Listen". DJ Mag. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  44. ^ "Everything But The Girl release Fka Mash remix of 'Caution To The Wind': Listen". DJ Mag. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  45. ^ Smith, Carl (26 April 2023). "Everything But The Girl take the lead over Enter Shikari in this week's Number 1 album race". Official Charts. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  46. ^ "EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL songs and albums". Official Charts. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  47. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Fuse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  48. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Everything but the Girl – Fuse" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  49. ^ "Ultratop.be – Everything but the Girl – Fuse" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  50. ^ "Ultratop.be – Everything but the Girl – Fuse" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  51. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Everything but the Girl – Fuse" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  52. ^ "Lescharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Fuse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  53. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Everything but the Girl – Fuse" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  54. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  55. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Fuse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  56. ^ "Charts.nz – Everything but the Girl – Fuse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  57. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  58. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  59. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Fuse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  60. ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 17". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  61. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Fuse". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  62. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  63. ^ "Everything but the Girl Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  64. ^ "Bjork Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  65. ^ "Bjork Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  66. ^ "Everything but the Girl Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  67. ^ "Everything But the Girl Chart History (Top Rock & Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
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