Tracey Thorn is one of those singers that for me is irresistible. Yes, I'd likely enjoy hearing her sing the phone book. I love her records with the post-punk Marine Girls, the melodic minimalism of her solo debut, "A Distant Shore," the many styles she undertook as half of Everything But the Girl, and her guest appearances with Massive Attack, Deep Dish, Adam F and the rest.

After taking a number of years off to raise her children, Thorn is back with "Out of the Woods," on Astralwerks Records. Like the last few EBTG records and her most recent collaborations, "Out of the Wood" is rooted in electronica and dance music. But Thorn can't shed her taste for melody and for sentimental, emotional lyrics penned in a traditional songwriting format. So, this is electronica for the electronica-ignorant crowd.

Recorded in seven cities with five producers, "Out of the Woods" could be a jumbled mess, but instead it's a remarkably coherent mix of melody, blips and bleeps, acoustic pianos and guitars, flutes, flugelhorns, cellos and violins.

It's dance-y and it's tender, but above all it's beautiful and, as always, Thorn's lyrics conjure up a youth spent in North London suburbia, the awakening of the senses with a move to the big city and the ups and downs of love.

Noticeably absent is Ben Watt, her partner in music and life and parenthood, who has worked in past years as a club DJ and remixer. This may be her first work -- not including guest appearances -- without him in more than 20 years. I hesitate to say we don't miss him, but Thorn makes such a moving, such an enjoyable record that most won't even likely check to see if he's listed in the credits.