It seemed like a brilliant idea at first.

Fresh from their Mercury Prize win in their native England, ethereal outfit The xx decided to put together a covers album, but one featuring their personal-fave artists doing the songs from their own debut.

Naturally, they got in touch with Everything But The Girl’s evocative Tracey Thorn (and her old bandmate Ben Watt) to see if they might be interested.

Yes, they definitely were. But Alas, The xx’s killer concept fell apart for a variety of reasons.

The good news?

Thorn had already tracked her version of the group’s “Night Time,” with Watt on guitars and backing vocals, and it’s finally seeing the light of day as the “Night Time” EP, via Merge, on Nov. 1.

The song marks the first time Thorn and Watt have recorded together in over a decade. And it’s backed by three remixed versions of “Swimming,” a cut from her recent “Love And Its Opposite” album. Also on Nov. 8, Thorn is issuing a digital compilation called “Extended Plays,” which contains not only “Night Time” but a plethora of bonus content connected with the “Love” set.

Keep up with Thorn’s whereabouts at www.traceythorn.com.