After 12 years and eight albums, Everything But the Girl (which also includes guitarist-singer-songwriter Ben Watt) have released Amplified Heart (Atlantic), the most beautifully mature album of their career and one of the sleeper gems of 1994. On past albums, EBTG have experimented with full orchestras and overly slick synth-pop; “Amplified Heart” finds the perfect balance of folky simplicity and understated technology. The lyrics are gently reflective, partly because Watt spent nearly a year battling Churg Strauss syndrome, a rare disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels. “I still haven’t got over it even now / I want to spend huge amounts of time on my own,” Thorn sings in “Rollercoaster,” the first single, written by Watt.
No matter what she’s singing, Thorn’s voice has an instant sadness, a classicism that relates more to old-school divas like Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick than peers like Liz Phair. These days, such talents put her in a class by herself.
