Out Of The Woods
Tracey Thorn
Out Of The Woods began as Tracey’s autobiography of her life in bands and essentially who she was prior to motherhood. While researching for the book she was reminded, “You still are this person.” Tracey abandoned the book and set out to reclaim herself and she began writing and collaborating and Out Of The Woods developed into the intricate composition that it is.
The lineage of Out Of The Woods is more direct to her last solo recording, 1982’s A Distant Shore, than it is to EBTG’s final 1999 album Temperamental. The emphasis of the songwriting is the delicate, pensive contents of Tracey’s head, mulling over details and analyzing events, instead of the more conventional, pop-formatted structure of EBTG hits. The only direct link to EBTG is the now organic relationship between Tracey’s voice and electronic production, provided on Woods through collaborations with renowned electronica producers Ewan Pearson, Tom Gandey (Cagedbaby), Martin Wheeler (Vector Lovers), and Alex Santos.
Thematically, Tracey dissects marriage, her role as mother, creeping depression, gay teens being bullied at school, and innocent burgeoning sexuality. One of the album’s only two true dance tracks, “Grand Canyon,” can be interpreted as one of the most affirming gay “home in clubland” anthems ever, employing the incredible hook “Everybody loves you here.”
