posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release, Photo by Edward Bishop

Blue Reservoir is the eleventh and latest studio album from Everything But The Girl (above) – the best-selling UK duo formed in 1982 by singer-writer-musicians Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, out on February 19 on Buzzin’ Fly/Virgin.

The album’s first single Young and Dumb and accompanying music video is out now, and more UK live dates in May 2027 go on sale this Friday 30 October.

My thoughts are that Young and Dumb is very much a return to past glories as the song ambles into view, with a languid Spanish guitar anticipating Tracey’s vocal. Her voice has deepened (“yes I’m older and wiser”, she sings) and remains as expressive as ever, dovetailing beautifully with Ben’s backing. “So let’s drink to the future”, they sing together, “let’s drink to just living like we’re young and dumb again”.

I think we can all resonate with that.

Meanwhile, a bit about Blue Reservoir from the album PR:

“Inspired by the pair’s unexpected and unconventional return to live performance in 2025 – a long-running sold-out residency (with thousands each night on the wait list) at Hackney’s intimate 300-capacity MOTH Club – Blue Reservoir sees the duo put aside the sharply-lit electronica of 2023’s acclaimed comeback album, Fuse, and lean into some of their foundational influences and ideas.

“There was an intensity and simplicity to the MOTH shows that took us back to how we started out,” says Thorn. “Direct, rooted in guitar and voice, a few extra colours. We hadn’t been in that world for a long time and it just felt fresh and real.”

Uplifted, Watt bought a Spanish nylon-string guitar in January 2026 to write and perform on: “It is the sound of so much of the music I first connected with growing up, and I’d never actually owned one. It became quite an emotional springboard for me. I found a voice I thought I’d lost.”

Published post no.3,061 – Wednesday 28 October 2026