This should help sustain my need for some new A&B until the full release of the album on January 20th.
Here is the link to the iTunes previews, and below is a Soundcloud compilation released by the group themselves.
I think they have released about half of the albums biggest tracks so far. That’s no surprise. Artists usually release one of the best tracks of an album in addition to some of the solid upper-middle ones in order to build interest. I’ve posted about those tracks already, so I want to talk about what I am hearing in the previews.
“Quieter is Louder” is a classic A&B intro track. They did the same thing in their Group Therapy album, and they use this track and tracks like this to open up their live sets. It sets the mood well.
“Peace of Mind” is really good. I am so glad to hear more tracks with Zoe Johnston. This song was debuted in their live set at Madison Square Garden (ABGT100) if you want to take a listen.
“Counting Down the Days” is one of the tracks that I am looking forward to the most. Gemma Hayes is brilliant, and while I don’t think her voice is as unique as Zoe’s, I think it works just as well with A&B’s vibe.
Hello! “Hello” gets a fresh sounding rework, and I am absolutely pumped. This song is massive. Check it out below from their ABGT100 set.
“A Little Something” is a nice change of pace. Justine Suissa is a staple in the trance community and was with A&B back when they were producing tracks as OceanLab. See below (1:55 is where it gets good).
She is probably most famous from her work on the track “Burned with Desire”. This track is epic. One of the most recognizable songs in all of trance, in my opinion. Its great to have her voice back on an A&B track.
“Fly to New York” is a fun song, and it really does make you want to get up out of your chair and fly somewhere new. It makes me feel ready for travel and new experiences.
“Making Plans” has been carried over from the acoustic album, but it is still great. I’ll be glad to have this hybrid version.
“Out of Time” was also debuted in the ABGT100 set in its entirety. You should go check it out because this track is competing with the previous Gemma Hayes track as my favorite of the new tracks previewed today.
“Excuses” is pretty good too. It sounds like Tony is actually on the vocals here. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like him.
I’ll be honest. From here on out (“Sink the Lighthouse” and “Treasure”) I think that the album loses a bit of energy. Thats probably intentional because A&B makes songs that work together as an album. They aren’t necessarily all club bangers that exist in isolation from their fellow tracks. They will work when listening to the album as a whole, but unless they are remixed don’t expect them to be bringing down a dance floor anytime soon.
Keep in mind that “We’re All We Need”, “All Over the World”, “Blue Sky Action”, and “Sticky Fingers” are also on this album. When taken together I think that this album will certainly rival Group Therapy.
There it is! A quick summary of the new album. Let me know in the comments which one of the tracks you are most looking forward to.
The EDM Student 