That’s My Jam is a weekly feature where one person from the Selective Hearing staff goes to wax poetic about music that is pivotal to their musical tastes. Whether that would be an album, a song, or anything in-between. We all had to start somewhere.
Release Date: May 21, 1996
Track Listing
- Before Today
- Wrong
- Single
- The Heart Remains A Child
- Walking Wounded
- Flipside
- Big Deal
- Mirrorball
- Good Cop Bad Cop
- Wrong (Todd Terry Remix)
- Walking Wounded (Omni Trio Mix)
Review
Walking Wounded is Everything But The Girl’s 9th studio album and the follow-up to the electronic and dance style-inspired remix of their song Missing. (remixed by Todd Terry and from their 8th album Amplified Heart)
This album features the Drum & Bass crossover Walking Wounded, the House styled Wrong and the down-tempo Single. It also has the Todd Terry remix of Wrong and the Omni Trio Remix of Walking Wounded to complete the package.
Formed in 1982, Everything But The Girl was originally a lite-jazz duo. It was only through happenstance that they ended up in the world of electronica. This was spearheaded by a collaboration with Massive Attack (on their LP Protection) and the international success of the Todd Terry remix of their song Missing.
With that in mind, what you get on Walking Wounded is some slick and sophisticated excursions into the worlds of Drum & Bass, Trip-Hop and House music. Combine that with most tracks’ dark and moody lyrics, and you have electronic music for grown-ups.
Sadly Walking Wounded was the beginning of the end for Everything But The Girl. They released another electronic music album in 1999 (Temperamental) and went on hiatus shortly after to focus on solo projects.
For me, Walking Wounded exposed the many possibilities of dance music as more than simple club stompers. It could be a serious medium for songwriters and producers to craft some great material instead of fluff pieces for people to get drunk in the club.
And it brought to light some other artists, such as Massive Attack and Portishead, that I probably would not have given the time of day otherwise. Lastly, it allowed me to give Drum & Bass a go as a viable listening option.
Unfortunately, in today’s age of “waiting for the bass drop,” electronic music, Walking Wounded, would most likely be considered boring. The songs on the album don’t necessarily overwhelm the speakers or bring a sense of hype or euphoria.
More likely, this album may be considered fodder for hipsters to latch on to while rebelling against the mainstream.
In the end, Walking Wounded perfectly combines the core of the group’s jazzy folk sound with electronica. This definitely won’t be for everyone, but if you keep an open mind and ear, you’ll be in for a wonderfully chill and enlightening listening experience.
