Everything But The Girl, “Fuse.”

Talk about making up for lost time. U.K. dance-pop duo Everything but the Girl released its last studio album, Temperamental, more than two decades ago. Flash-forward to now, where the ’90s pop hitmakers seemingly have very little rust to brush off. EBTG’s 11th LP sounds fresh.

“Kiss me while the world decays/ Kiss me while the music plays,” Tracey Thorn sings on “Nothing Left to Lose.”

That opening track is sweet and smooth, upbeat and trancelike in its production. Thorn and Ben Watt harmonize well over slickly arranged beats and synths. Tracks like “Run a Red Light” are calm, intricate and minimalist. They never feel “small,” though, even with only some piano and light synths. That’s because the vocals are completely dialed in, with a hint of vulnerability.

“Caution to the Wind” builds from a simple quiet synth intro and slowly gains momentum until a drum-and-bass rhythmic pattern elevates it to another level as a full-on dance floor anthem. Despite the song’s upbeat nature, Everything but the Girl still manages to play it cool, keeping the beat just subdued enough to not be over the top.

“I hate people who give me advice, when you mess up,” Thorn sings on the aptly titled “When You Mess Up.” The slow-burning ballad brings together all the tricks in the arsenal. Fusing synths, experimental sounds and vocal filters, this alt-pop track is a fun exploratory detour. “Time & Time Again” brings a throwback pop energy, with a foundation of synths and loops combined with lush harmonies between the two vocalists.

The R&B rhythm of “No One Knows We’re Dancing” manages to bring together both classic and modern variations. While it could have existed on one of the duo’s prior albums, it still doesn’t feel like its old and fits within the current musical landscape.

“Lost,” meanwhile, is an interesting clash of styles with vocals in the vein of a classical melody coming together with a choppy yet refined dance beat.

“I lost my mother, then I just lost it,” Thorn sings on “Lost,” a lament, in list form, of the things that have gone wrong. The song offers layered stringed instruments and a European flair. The breezy and acoustic “Forever” is one of the more modern-feeling sons on Fuse. From the sharp production to the refined singing, it’s infectious and anthemic.

Some tracks make their point within a shorter amount of real estate. “Interior Space” clocks in at two minutes and change but manages to deliver a deeply introspective story. It almost veers into a jazz-like wandering all over, but still keeps its focus. The record concludes on a sweet and soulful note with “Karaoke,” which delivers far more than its namesake might suggest.

This story has been edited to reflect that Tracey Thorn sings lead on all of the lyrics mentioned above. We regret the error.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.