Album of the Day

Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn – collectively known as Everything But The Girl – have been mainstays of the electronica scene ever since the beat-drenched WALKING WOUNDED, but the British duo started out more closely aligned with sophisti-pop, and their breakthrough album AMPLIFIED HEART captures both sides of the coin perfectly. The collection is best known for “Missing,” which set a record on this day in 1996 for most weeks on the U.S. singles chart; the Todd Terry remix that ruled dance clubs is included here as a bonus track. But this album is filled with “growers,” and after you've spun the hell out of the big hit, cuts like “Rollercoaster,” “Get Me” and “Two Star” emerge from the on-deck circle to knock it out of the park. Thorn's beautiful vocals and the intimate acoustic textures (with instrumental support from members of U.K. folk-rock greats Fairport Convention and Pentangle) make the bruised romanticism of AMPLIFIED HEART unforgettable.