''We Are All We Need'' is the third studio album by British

progressive trance Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...

group Above & Beyond. It was released on 16 January 2015 by

Anjunabeats Anjunabeats is a British record label started by producers Jonathan "Jono" Grant and Paavo Siljamäki of Above & Beyond in 2000. Initially exclusively a trance music label, around 2011 Anjunabeats started releasing primarily trance-edged hou ...

. The album is their first studio album to feature new material since ''

Group Therapy Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. The term can legitimately refer to any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a group format, i ...

'' (2011). It is the first album released under the name Above & Beyond not to feature collaborations with British singer-songwriter

Richard Bedford Richard Bedford is a Grammy Award-nominated British singer-songwriter. Biography Bedford is widely known for his vocal work in electronic dance music (EDM) and trance including his collaborations with Above & Beyond on their 2011 album '' ...

. However it features a track with

Justine Suissa Justine Simone Freha Suissa (born 21 March 1970) is a British singer-songwriter, the vocalist of trance group OceanLab. Career and collaborations She has collaborated with Armin van Buuren, Markus Schulz and Robbie Rivera, and has continued ...

, the group's longtime collaborator on the

OceanLab OceanLab (or Above & Beyond presents OceanLab) is a vocal trance group formed in London, England, in 2000, consisting of vocalist Justine Suissa and the three members of Above & Beyond: Jono Grant, Paavo Siljamäki, and Tony McGuinness. Afte ...

project.

Critical reception

''We Are All We Need'' received generally positive reception from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. Matt Joseph from ''We Got This Covered'' gave the album a 4/5 rating, stating that the album's "catchy hooks, angelic vocals and club ready anthems" added to the group's already impressing discography. Krystal Spence from ''Your EDM'' compared ''We Are All We Need'' to Above & Beyond's previous album, ''

'', stating that the former was "much more uplifting" than its predecessor. Krystal also praised the group for continuing their tradition of producing tracks which are "easy to learn", allowing listeners to effortlessly sing along with the tracks. ''inthemix's'' Angus Paterson noted the focus of club-based tracks on the record, and stated that the album "ain’t something that will please those enthused with the deeper, more progressive sounds heard on their Tri-State debut". He went on by writing that although there was less of a consistent theme which drew ''Group Therapy'' together, the record managed to be the "most polished album yet; functioning both as A-grade pop music, and mass-appeal club music with soul." In a mixed review, Jon O'Brien from ''Music Is My Oxygen'' described the album as packing with "skyscraping choruses, uplifting synth hooks and Balearic beats", but criticized the track "Blue Sky Action" for being a generic attempt at copying the success of

Swedish House Mafia Swedish House Mafia (SHM) is a Swedish house music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJ Poll 2011, and have been ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

sound and stated that "''We Are All We Need'' delivers little you haven’t heard before". Lanre Bakare from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and Jessica Wall from ''The Up Coming'' both gave the album a 2/5 rating, with Bakare calling ''We Are All We Need'' an "overwrought, nigh-on comical take on dance music". Wall dubbed the record as "just a collection of songs", writing that there is no sense of journey and aesthetic amongst its tracks as the record progresses.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 12 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

, becoming the group's highest-charting album. In the United States, ''We Are All We Need'' debuted at number 34 on the ''Billboard'' 200, becoming the group's highest-charting album. The album also debuted at number one on the

Dance/Electronic Albums Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Dance/Electronic Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling electronic music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by ...

chart. It sold 14,000 copies in its first week in the US, the group's biggest first-week sales.

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References