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10.0
133691
10.0 |
The Independent
Shows a rekindled appetite for modern melancholy
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10.0
133692
10.0 |
The Guardian
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have absorbed the revolutions in dance and electronic music since their previous album in 1999, and shaped them into melancholic, finely detailed stories
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10.0
133800
10.0 |
Albumism
Skillfully constructed, carefully crafted, familiar and fresh all at the same time, Thorn and Watt have never sounded more in sync, connected, and inspired by each other than they do on Fuse
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9.0
133715
9.0 |
God Is In The TV
I hope there’ll be another Everything But The Girl album. If there isn’t, this will be a very fine way to end the band. If there is, then the strength of this record shows that they continue to fire on all cylinders
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9.0
133710
9.0 |
Clash
A rich, atmospheric song cycle, it has the emotional heft of The Blue Nile and the production nous of Massive Attack. In the end, it could only be Everything But The Girl
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8.4
133730
8.4 |
Spectrum Culture
Fuse never overstays its welcome, nor does it feel labored and overstuffed in the way that an album like this could feel. Everything But the Girl are master craftspeople, after all, and nary a note of Fuse goes wrong
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8.0
133757
8.0 |
XS Noize
See review
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8.0
133716
8.0 |
Northern Transmissions
On Fuse Everything But The Girl reestablish themselves as cutting edge purveyors of their genre. Not elder statesman but a couple who is tapped into the emotionality and substance of their true artistry
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8.0
133690
8.0 |
Dork
A return from an important act in British pop’s history that is well worth the wait. If you’re an old fan, you’ll be in heaven; if you’re a new listener, dive in and enjoy
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8.0
133714
8.0 |
The Skinny
More than two decades on from their last record, Everything But The Girl have grown into themselves, forging a sound that is at once deliciously familiar and enhanced by the weight of experience
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8.0
133665
8.0 |
Mojo
No more the quieter introspection and reflection of solo tracks like Hormones or Fever Dream – here Thorn and Watt are a combined force, capturing the giddy euphoria and release of the club experience. Print edition only
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8.0
133707
8.0 |
The Quietus
As the album unfolds, it becomes clear this isn’t EBTG simply revisiting past glories, but cautiously experimenting, and perhaps hinting at where they might go if they make more albums
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8.0
133693
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Tracey Thorn’s voice maintains its impeccable soulfulness and it feels like no time has passed
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8.0
133694
8.0 |
All Music
Fuse is nowhere near as club-friendly or single-driven as the stacked-with-hits Walking Wounded and Temperamental, but it contains the most adventurous production EBTG have ever attempted, showing that the duo haven't lost their touch for pairing up-to-date music with relevant, affecting subject matter
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8.0
133703
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
Brings jazz abstraction to downtempo electronica
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8.0
133667
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Fuse 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. That suits the adult tone of the songs
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8.0
133668
8.0 |
The Irish Times
Fuse combines elements of Temperamental’s old-school garage house and trip hop, the duo’s love of pop-imbued songs and, inevitably, a worldview that has been shaped by their life experiences over the past quarter of a century
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8.0
133669
8.0 |
musicOMH
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt’s first album in 24 years faces off chilly delicacy with radio-friendly tracks, with mysteries and subtleties to discover that demand repeat listens
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8.0
133685
8.0 |
NME
'Fuse', their first album since 1999, is imbued with the sounds of today for a shimmering, immensely satisfying return
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7.7
133709
7.7 |
Pitchfork
After 24 years, the electronic pop duo returns with a moving, handsome album that tells a sophisticated story about recapturing innocence
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6.8
133788
6.8 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
Fuse lands as a welcome sampler of the Everything But the Girl sound updated to the ‘20s, but not quite the powerhouse comeback they are so clearly capable of
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6.0
133723
6.0 |
The Observer
The duo return with their intriguingly individual take on beats and plaintive vocals
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6.0
133666
6.0 |
Uncut
Some tastefully lightweight, pleasantly inessential filler ultimately make Fuse a minor late-career coda. Print edition only
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6.0
133711
6.0 |
The FT
Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have brought back their band after more than 20 years in retirement
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6.0
133686
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
Even when Fuse 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
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5.0
133705
5.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
The album’s been in gestation for two years, and yet with a few exceptions the ten songs here sound like offcuts. It’s not that Fuse is actually that bad – but it feels like a futile exercise, a series of turns down paths which don’t go anywhere
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4.0
133782
4.0 |
No Ripcord
Ultimately, the record just sounds comically one-paced and disappointingly stale
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