Temperamental

First released in 1999, Temperamental is the ninth studio album from Everything But The Girl - the best-selling UK duo formed in 1982 by singer-writer-musicians Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt - and arrives in a new 23-track deluxe CD reissue edition featuring additional remixes and extra tracks. Often seen as a companion piece to its million-selling predecessor Walking Wounded, the album went on to sell over 500,000 copies worldwide, including the Billboard Dance Chart #1 single, Five Fathoms, and further cemented the duo's reputation for skilfully fusing the worlds of modern electronica and ardent pop songwriting. The album was recorded in north London at the duo's home studio in the summer of 1998 with two tracks ending up as production collaborations: Blame, made with drum 'n' bass DJ-producer Jamie Spratling (J Majik) at his studio in Hertfordshire; and The Future of the Future, which began life as an instrumental by Washington DC deep house producers, Deep Dish before Watt wrote a melody and lyrics for Thorn to sing. Yet it was not without its complications. After the birth of the pair's twins in early 1998, Thorn chose to focus much of her time on family life. Watt produced a lot of the album's music, and the pair could often only get together at night when the house was quiet to work on vocals and arrangements. If the music is inspired by clubland, the lyrics capture the tension and complexities of competing interior and exterior worlds, of lives lived both inside and outside. The album was acclaimed in many quarters. 'Triumphant after-hours club pop' said Spin in a full-page 9/10 lead review. 'Wide-eyed and wondrous,' commented Time Out. And in a 2019 retrospective feature, The Quietus concluded 'Temperamental may be the most emotionally complex dance long-player of all time'. Mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell, the album features the original artwork by Jane Fox in a new layout by John Gilsenan at IWant Design, with full lyrics, credits and photos from the period.