Review: Above & Beyond – We Are All We Need

1

Is there any artist in the electronic music scene quite like Above & Beyond?

Songwriters, musicians, producers of life changing club anthems and curators of a label responsible for nurturing talents such as Dusky and Mat Zo. Above & Beyond aka Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki have set themselves even further from the pack in the past few years. And now, they are back again with their highly anticipated 4th studio album, ‘We Are All We Need’. This album consists of 16 tracks and every track, we repeat, every track is a pure jewel and symbol of every possible human emotion. Read below on what we think of every track from the album. :)

above-beyond-we-are-all-we-need-cover-art

“Quieter Is Louder” follows the current trend of the combination of styles and sounds in order to deliver a hybrid fresh track that doesn’t obey genre rules. The strong melodic themes used in this track will surely touch listeners deeply and make them feel really emotional. It can be played easily in trance and progressive house sets.

A poignant tale of a deep unfulfilled love, “We Are All We Need” featuring Zoë Johnston is an elegant, melodic progressive builder with stirring strings and magical vocals from Zoë Johnston.It perfectly captures the bittersweet beauty of intense, but ultimately unsuccessful relationships. This track has a playful bubbly progressive trance style filled with magnificent dreamy melodies, cinematic warm strings and a hypnotic atmosphere.

“Blue Sky Action” featuring the indie rock vocals by Alex Vargas is definitely one big anthem for the summer. Its a powerful modern neo-trancer with chunky fat grooves, energetic electro inspired basslines melted with cool synths and beautiful melodies. The result is a powerful punchy groove that becomes the perfect platform for Alex Vargas’ vocals to shine along with trance based synths in the background.

“Counting Down The Days” is a great euphoric progressive lifting trance anthem that perfectly mixes progressive house grooves with the magical vocals provided by Gemma Reyes. With aggressive sharp edges combined with a more melodic and euphoric middle sequence that recalls the classic Anjunabeats sound, this tune will definitely touch your soul.

“Sticky Fingers” is an emotional progressive trance tune featuring groovy house beats, a slightly distorted synth lead at the top that drives the track forward. It opens with a mesmerizing piano line, before Alex Vargas’ haunting vocals tap into the anxiety which exists in the aftermath of a relationship. The track builds up intensively before landing on a fantastic breakdown. The romantic melancholic piano melody supports Alex’s vocals brilliantly. This will make you feel a part of the story he sings about and will make listeners recall their personal relationship moments.

“Hello” is full of positive feelings and optimism that will surely bring a smile on the listener’s face. The breakdown is pure class with an emotionally charged melodic theme that makes you think of beautiful summer places.

“All Over The World” is the 3rd tune on the album which features the vocals of Alex Vargas who has demonstrated the ability to give a whole new direction and meaning to this album with his voice. The track tells the story of a damaged relationship between a son and his estranged father. Lyrically and musically, this track combines the best of both worlds.

“Fly To New York” perfectly highlights the classy, emotive brand of electronic music that Above & Beyond are loved for. This track is one hell of a ride that slowly grows on you without being an instant winner and that makes it even more magical. Singer Zoë Johnston is at the forefront of this emotional adventure by shining with her bitter sweet performance. The breakdown is outstanding with classical strings and piano melody that crawls under your skin.

“Little Something” features the lovely voice of Justine Suissa. The track is a highly energetic hybrid of progressive trance and electronic house. Above & Beyond illuminate the beauty of Justine Suissa’s distinctive vocals in an epic breakdown – paving the way for a piano-laden release. It is a powerful vocal anthem that is both emotive and uplifting, with Above & Beyond using their trademark production finesse in style with Justine’s wistful lyrics adding layers of meaning and emotion.

On “Making Plans”, Alex’s delicate emotive vocals are underpinned effortlessly by Above & Beyond’s sublime melodic undertones and precise production. The emotional breakdown highlights Zoe’s fantastic performance and sensitive and fragile themes further enhance the ability of her voice. The verses steal the show accompanied by some delightful trance sounds, bringing together an ultra positive feeling before the breakdown.

“Peace Of Mind” is an one uplifting trance track filled with tropical beats and summery atmosphere making way for Zoe to lay her emotional heartbreaking vocals. The breakdown is infused with piano melodies followed by a pulsating kick and euphoric synth led riff.

“Out Of Time” is a brilliant progressive & uplifting trance track. The tune has a bit of electro house touch along with a superb slice of blissful trance. It has strong groovy edges, ethereal melodies and of course, the characteristic Above & Beyond piano melodies making this track a priceless one.

“Excuses” starts really melodic and spacey, building up slowly and developing a meaty rich foundation for this track to explode in your ears. The track has a breakdown that is absolutely mesmerizing which crawls under your skin and calms your senses in truly cinematic direction.

“Treasure” is an emotionally driven production that takes you on board for a nice, relaxing and enlightening ride. Zoe’s vocals will touch your soul and change the perception of reality.

“Sink The Lighthouse” is a powerful and energetic trance track. Alex’s voice stands out and shines with an amazing ability to make us resonate with the lyrics.

“Save Me” is one melodic trance track which deserves a place in the top vocal trance anthems of all time. As has been the norm, Zoe once again delivers a superb performance as her voice is really sweet, dynamic and very memorable as well. Above & Beyond manage to maintain the perfect balance between energy and emotion. The package also includes the dub mixes. Great vocal trance release!

“We Are All We Need” carries forward the legacy of soul and heart touching trance anthems created by Above & Beyond.

– Review by Samir Goyal

You can grab your copy of the album here.

Follow T.H.E – Music Encyclopedia:

Facebook

Twitter

Google Plus

YouTube

Mixcloud

T.H.E
Follow me!

Comments are closed.