Retro Review “Touch” Eurythmics

By Evan Ferstl

Eurythmics, the London duo consisting of vocalist Annie Lennox and guitarist Dave Stewart, released two albums in 1983. These seminal albums would cement their place as one of the New Wave’s most fondly remembered acts. After establishing their synth-pop credentials with “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” they released “Touch,” a daring album that builds off their previous success and breaks new ground. 

Not content to build the album off of the pop sensibilities of the opening track, “Here Comes the Rain Again,” Lennox and Stewart use the rest of their time to build a world of their own, which results in an incredibly challenging, albeit rewarding, listen. While not every song hits home emotionally (“Right By Your Side,” for example, is too upbeat for its own good), all are interesting and complex enough to warrant constant relistening. “Touch” has one standout track, “Who’s That Girl,” a haunting, majestic anthem of jealousy and suspicion. “No Fear, No Have, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)” and “Paint a Rumour,” the two songs which close out the album, also showcase the band’s strengths, especially Lennox’s ability to be soulful and earnest one moment and icy and detached the next. Throughout “Touch,” she proves herself time and again as one of the genre’s most confident and unconventional performers.

Eurythmics have always been well in control of their image, and on “Touch,” they accomplish exactly what they set out to do. Powerful vocals and intriguing arrangements combine to make “Touch” a work of art.