Following their acoustic performance at LA’s Greek Theater, trance trio Above & Beyond have begun releasing acoustic studio versions of some of their biggest hits. Rolling Stone recently released the studio version for Sun & Moon and littered their review with misinformation:
Progressive house trio Above and Beyond are the latest producers to step outside of dance music and dabble in acoustic pop. On their new song “Sun & Moon,” from their upcoming album Above and Beyond Acoustic – out January 28th, hot off the heels of the concert film they’ll release on the 24th – the group follows in Avicii’s lead, making straightforward pop. Structurally speaking, “Sun & Moon” doesn’t stray too far from the trance outfit’s drone-y inclinations. Above and Beyond shows the group – Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Paavo Siljamäki – are adept at stretching out. The restrained breakup ballad keeps an even keel throughout, with a soft, flickering beat that underlies melancholy strings.
“‘Sun & Moon’ is one of our best-loved songs and probably the one that evokes the biggest crowd response all over the world, so it was an interesting challenge to try to create an acoustic version that might connect in the same way,” Siljamäki tells Rolling Stone. “To then have the chance to perform it live as part of a band – and eventually experience 6,000 people singing it with us at the Greek Theatre – will go down as one of the greatest thrills of our career.”
The write up claims that Above & Beyond are progressive house, which is debatable, and that they are ‘dabbling’ in acoustic pop following Avicii’s lead. Despite acoustic pop not being a genre, one cannot ‘dabble’ in a new style when they are merely playing their own tracks. The acoustic tracks are not a new direction for A&B, they are an anabranch (get out a dictionary) from their typical method of operation. This is contrary to Avicii’s experimental fusing of country and dance music on Wake Me Up, which Rolling Stone claims to have set the stage for A&B’s acoustic performances.
Acoustic performances are nothing new. MTV has been conducting their Unplugged series for decades and nobody claimed Nirvana was straying from their grunge sound after their legendary performance.
Rolling Stone might consider sticking to the genre’s that built their career and leave the EDM news to those that live to dance.