POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Girl: Poetic Minimalism at Its Finest

Everything But the Girl, the British duo that played the Troubadour Saturday night, may be the most understated group in pop music.

Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, both slender, genteel types in their early 30s, are the antithesis of flash--speaking softly and dressing in the most plain and simple fashion. Their music is minimalist to the extreme--partly a throwback to early ‘60s pop-folk, with touches of soul and jazz thrown in.

Like most of their local shows over the years, this one was terrific. Thorn and Watt, who have been recording together since 1983, spotlighted music from their excellent new album, “Amplified Heart.” The sound was warm and cozy and the music quietly compelling. The songs, mostly about despair and heartache, were packed with emotion that sneaked up on you. Before you knew it, you were transfixed and moved by songs like “Rollercoaster,” “Troubled Mind” and “Walking to You.”

Thorn, who handled most of the vocals, hardly sang above a whisper. She sounded like a very subtle, restrained version of Annie Lennox, with undercurrents of the styles of Sade, Carly Simon and early Paul Simon weaving in and out. Watt, who co-writes the music with her, did some lead and backup singing, but mostly played guitar.

If you want to nit-pick, you could chide them for a total lack of variety--no up-tempo tunes, no sunny songs, no significant change in tone. But if you enjoy immersing yourself in gloomy, poetic minimalism for 90 minutes, an Everything But the Girl show is sheer heaven.