Group Therapy [CD]

Above & Beyond raise the bar every year with their Anjunabeats collection, and given these and the success of their previous artist album Tri-State, there was plenty of pressure on A&B to make this a fantastic album. And by and large, not surprisingly, it is.
I have criticised other trance artists, Tiesto and Armin van Buuren for example, for using excess vocalists on some of their previous albums, with a view to becoming more commercial rather than adding a genuine improvement to their tracks. So when I realised that the majority of tracks on Group Therapy contained vocals, I became a little wary. But the vocals here, trance lovers, are not overbearing and are not there purely to earn money for the artist. For a start, only two different vocalists are used, Richard Bedford who sung on the stunning 'Alone Tonight,' and Zoe Johnston, who sung on the likewise 'Good For Me.' They have gone for vocalists that (a) are very good and that genuinely compliment A&B's music and emotions, and (b) that aren't well-known. They provide a refreshing thought-provoking ambience to each track and fit with the music perfectly.
OK, maybe personally I'd have preferred a couple more non-vocal tracks; after all we know A&B are more than capable at creating and mixing songs without vocals; but this is just my taste and the harder 'Nitrous Oxide' type trance side of me talking. To knock off a star for this may seem harsh but let's face it, they have set such a high standard in recent years. And to emphasise - none of the tracks are ruined by vocals; on the contrary, all are significantly added to because of them.
A&B are thoughtful people, and this thought and emotion is expressed in every song. You can dance to most of them but strangely relax to most of them as well, or at the very least the songs brew up thoughts of your own. And continuing with the thoughtful theme, each track has had goodness knows how much thought put into it, to make it totally perfect in their eyes.
A&B are dominating the trance and electronica music scene at the moment, with good reason. This album presents only a snapshot, yet an exceptional example of their talents. Long may their tracks and their label, Anjunabeats, continue.

Above & Beyond are a definitive uplifting trance group. 'Group Therapy' continues where 'Tri-State' left off with 15 tracks. The main vocalist collaborations are the same as in 2006: Zoe Johnston and Richard Bedford. However, with five years between A&B artist albums, (other than the OceanLab project and the 'Tri-State Remixed' album) there are only subtle developments in their sound. That said, Tri-State is a great album and Group Therapy is a more confident big brother. If you like the first, you'll love the second.

My only real gripe with the album lies with some of the instrument tracks. As standalone tracks, they provide the listener with nothing we haven't heard already either on any A&B production including this album.

However, 'Filmic' and 'Eternal' act as a frame around the rest of the album, and as there isn't a massively wide variety of sounds offered overall, they reward listening to the album it's in entirety; the high level of production allows it to then come alive. The lack of variety in the vocalist selection is also offset by how they feature on alternating tracks and the strength of the lyrics. This paths the way for lead single 'Sun & Moon' to stand out as the best song of the album. With second single 'Thing Called Love' appearing towards the end, A&B have crafted a beautiful symmetry about 'Group Therapy'.

Highlights: 'Alchemy', 'Sun & Moon' and 'Thing Called Love'.

Lowlights: 'Prelude' and 'Sun in Your Eyes'.

Verdict: 4/5.

Well, here we are again, 5 years on from the release of Tri State and what a 5 years it's been! For some reason my previous review of Tri State still sits at the top of the 'helpful review' pile despite me saying very little about it other than '..it should be listened to..'. Well the same applies here. I'm not going to describe this one either. Except that Group Therapy once again delivers one of the finest 'dance' albums in recent years. This isn't a 1 hour 20 minute trance fest. Nor is it a random collection of studio tracks. Simply, this is the sound of Above & Beyond - Group Therapy indeed. I'm also looking forward to the remix pack that will no doubt deliver the 8 minute DJ friendly tracks that could keep any dance floor, big or small, going for a couple of hours. Thanks A&B.