Gabriel & Dresden / Various

One of the qualities I simultaneously love and hate about trance is, sometimes, no matter how hard you try to resist, a well-timed crescendo can make you feel all the optimism and good will of a pill-popping teenage raver. For just an instant, you feel clean, pure and hopeful for world peace. While much of the tech-trance on this two-disc release is banal, the Junkie XL Club Mix of Sarah McLachlan’s hit "World On Fire” features a release so positive you want to mail a copy of it to all the misguided world leaders with a note that says "See? It is possible. Give peace a chance.” But then reality sets in, and the cruel matter of fact is that most of these songs feature failed attempts at euphoria and just roll on, nearly indistinguishable from the last. While I imagine this kind of instrumental is really good for television and movie producers who need something for the big thinking-and-walking scene toward the end, for me it just doesn’t do it.