Everything But the Girl - Temperamental [2LP]

Everything But the Girl's Temperamental is the sound of a former folk-pop duo fully at home in the club, spread across two LPs.

By 1999, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt had already reinvented themselves once with the drum and bass shadings of Walking Wounded. Temperamental went further, steeped in the deep house that Watt was spinning as a DJ, and it became their last album for more than two decades.

Five Fathoms opens the record with a rolling, oceanic groove, Thorn's voice floating over the top like a lighthouse beam. Blame is cool and brooding, and the title track Temperamental is a sleek, late-night house cut that never quite lets the tension break. Lullaby of Clubland captures the comedown hours perfectly, warm and wistful as the lights come up.

Watt produced much of the album, with help from collaborators including Deep Dish on The Future of the Future (Stay Gold), and the production is all smooth basslines, muted keys and hypnotic rhythm. Thorn's low, unhurried contralto keeps the emotional temperature steady, turning dance music into something closer to a confession.

It remains an underrated bridge between pop songwriting and electronic sophistication, house music with a beating heart. Play it at sunrise for the full effect.