Tri-State

Trance doesn't get much more emotional—or exhilarating—than Above & Beyond's debut album, which carefully balances driving, rolling beats and steely synths with soaring vocals and the occasional touch of guitar and piano. They follow their dance-floor impulses on dark, mesmerizing cuts like "World on Fire" and "Liquid Love"; at the other end of the spectrum lies the beatless "Good for Me," featuring Zoë Johnston's airy, spine-tingling vocal harmonies. And on the moody "Stealing Time," with its echoes of Underworld and Pet Shop Boys, they assume their place in the pop pantheon, too.