Everything But The Girl dip into the musical 'Blue Reservoir' early next year

Blue Reservoir, the 11th studio album from Everything But The Girl - the UK duo formed in 1982 by singer-writer-musicians Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt - and will be released on Buzzin’ Fly through Virgin Music Group on February 19. First single “Young and Dumb” and accompanying music video (treatment by Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, directed by Edward Bishop) is out now.

Watch the official video for “Young and Dumb”
Pre-order Blue Reservoir

The album sees the duo put aside the electronica of 2023’s Fuse, and lean into some of their foundational influences and ideas.

“There was an intensity and simplicity to the 'Moth' shows (a 2025 UK club residency) that took us back to how we started out,” says Thorn. “Direct, rooted in guitar and voice, a few extra colors. 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.”

The music came together in the first few weeks of 2026. If the results (nine written on guitar, one on piano) draw on Watt’s signature Latin-influenced lyricism, British folk-blues improvisation and song-driven storytelling, the lyrics (six by Thorn, three by Watt, one co-write) look forward and back through time. 

The album of ten original songs was recorded largely live at RAK Studios in London over ten days in July 2026. Watt’s guitars - both nylon-strung rhythm and electric lead - are augmented by long-standing collaborators Rex Horan (double bass) and Evan Jenkins (drums). The percussionist is Fabio de Oliveira (Babo Moreno), son of Brazilian percussion legend Bosco de Oliveira - a central figure on Thorn and Watt’s debut album, Eden in 1984. The pair’s own son, Blake Watt (Family Stereo), part of the Moth club line-up, guests on two songs. Additional overdubs (harmonium, celesta, tape loop atmospheres) were recorded by Watt at the duo’s home studio in north London.

Track listing: 

1) Forward
2) Scala
3) Young and Dumb
4) Do What You Can
5) Christmas Gone
6) Courage Mon Brave
7) The Round and Round
8) Fork in the Road
9) Good Hope
10) The Great Unknown