Even though 28 years separated the release of
Inner City's third and fourth albums, the
Kevin Saunderson-founded dance-pop act remained active. Numerous charting singles appeared throughout the 1990s (though a full-length, set to be titled Hiatus, never arrived), and the group occasionally toured and issued material during the first two decades of the next millennium. Original lead singer
Paris Grey remained with
Inner City into the 2010s, but a reconfigured lineup emerged as the band celebrated their 30th anniversary.
Kevin's son
Dantiez Saunderson came aboard in 2017, and singer/songwriter
Steffanie Christi'an became the group's frontwoman a year later. A multi-genre performer best known to Detroit house heads as the voice of
Waajeed's magnificent 2018 single "Mother,"
Christi'an's joyous, spirited vocals mesh perfectly with the updated
Inner City sound.
We All Move Together appears on Dutch trance DJ
Armin van Buuren's Armada label, and while it has a bit of a big room house sheen to it, the album stays true to the essentials: major piano chords, pumping kick drums, and incessantly positive lyrics focusing on love, dancing, and the power of faith (although this record doesn't lean towards gospel as much as
Fire and
Praise did). British actor and musician
Idris Elba provides a voice-over for the album's epic intro, name-checking the group's past hits and various major venues they've performed at (including a shout-out to Detroit's annual Movement festival). Other tracks begin by teasingly referencing the riffs of signature tunes "Big Fun" and "Good Life." Even with these nods to the past,
We All Move Together doesn't come off as simply a nostalgia trip, especially since old-school house and rave elements had steadily crept back into club music throughout the 2010s. The album's catchiest, most uplifting tracks, such as "That Feeling" and "Believe," bridge vintage
Inner City with the EDM-era house sound, and would sound equally at home on the radio or at Ibiza.