"Some days I think I could go insane..."

Everything But

The Girl:

Walking Wounded

If one record defines my adolescence, it's this one. Walking Wounded is one of my essential albums and literally chronicles my life in the mid-90's. Released a the year after their hit Missing took over the world, Walking Wounded signalled a shift in the duo's sound from the mostly acoustic Amplified Heart to a more electronic sensibility.  What did not change was their affinity for intelligent, perceptive pop music with depth.

I was sixteen when I listened to this album and it was a big part of the playlist for my young adulthood. It was my first experience of strongly identifying with a collection of songs. Connecting to this LP, I finally understood what people older than me meant when they talked about an album defining a period of time in their lives.

Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn cover a wide range with Walking wounded. The title track was the first single off the album and a brave choice at the time. Liquid drum'n bass propels a haunting refrain by Tracey's plaintive voice. This song was my introduction to the concept of left-field pop music and the possibilities thereof. The album closes with a fresh, crystalline remix by experimental musician Omni Trio.

"Wrong", the second single, is a classic house track lamenting one's own mistakes and begging for absolution. When you hurt someone badly enough, you're connected to them forever. Todd Terry is brought back to remix this giving it a fuller sound and a similar beat to his immortal rework of "Missing". Notably, this is the only song on the album where Ben Watt contributes any vocals.

"Single" puts the 'down' in down-tempo. Quite possibly one of my most consistently favoured songs throughout my life, I may very well keep listening to it forever. The percussion sounds like an off-kilter heartbeat. A morose saxophone sample pops in and out just to remind us that this is, indeed, meant to be as gloomy as it sounds. The organ and strings set the standard for 'atmospheric' as far as I'm concerned. "Good Cop/Bad Cop" is my personal anthem; so much so, that I hesitate to review it. Suffice it to say that it's really, really good. A nice mid-tempo track reeling with angst and despair, it's the song I most identify with n the world. As with "Single", the strings are a strong element, this time emotive rather than oneric.


"Before Today" gives us some more drum and bass. But  instead of the drama and angst of "Walking Wounded", we get a cheeky ultimatum to an uncooperative lover. While not exactly happy, it offers a more cheerful interruption to the more depressive entries on the album. "Big Deal" is an unforgiving break-beat driven song chastising someone for wallowing in their problems. Tracey Thorn's delicately intimate vocals take on a bit of a sting here and one can't help but feel a little defensive."Flipside" gives us a drowsy bit of hip-hop with daydreamy lyrics.

"Mirrorball" is a nicely layered narrative song that reads like the diary of a crazy person. The acoustic guitar and Rhodes piano ground the electronic elements of the song. "Heart Remains a Child" has a similar vibe to "Mirrorball" but treads more relationship-y ground. It's a song whose point of view has lost all dignity to infatuation.

Revisiting this album is always a treat for me. While it's true that Everything but the Girl tend to make melancholy music, I find their sad songs comforting.  While most of the world might know them through the Todd Terry Remix of "Missing", I highly recommend looking at its immediate aftermath. Walking Wounded is a great snapshot of what was great about left-of-centre pop in the 90s.