TRACEY THORN OUT OF THE WOODS ALBUM VIRGIN, EMI RELEASE: MARCH 7, 2007 REVIEW: MARCH 15, 2007

After a long musical hiatus ex-Everything But the Girl-singer Tracey Thorn ran into Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys. He asked her what she was doing with her voice these days, to which she replied “shouting at the kids mostly”. But it got her thinking, why not make a new album? Said and done, she started to primarily work with house producer Ewan Pearson, but also with a whole bunch of others like Martin Wheeler, Alex Santos, Charles Webster and Tom Gandey.

This makes for an incredibly varied collection of songs, spanning from the soft string laden intro track “Here It Comes Again” to uptempo house and quirky pop. Somehow it all fits together quite well, but the album is a bit uneven.

First single “It’s All True” is a slice of eighties pop heaven and should promptly put Tracey back on the radio, but it’s followed by some unremarkable tracks until we hit on “Easy” with its breakbeat bliss. Other highlights include “Grand Canyon”, a melancholic and epic electro house number that is fantastic. “Out of the Woods” also ends in style, with the gigantic bubble of joy that is “Raise the Roof”. Catchy, funky, and ooh, that exquisite bassline!

As always Tracey's voice sounds really beautiful, and she does a wonderful job allover. I definitely recommend this, but beware that some tracks just pass by with making a fuss. The Itunes version has a cover of the old PSB track "King's Cross" that I would love to hear, but it's not on the regular CD.

JOHAN CARLSSON