Air - Once Upon A Time (Virgin)
4/5
By: Dan Monsell
Perfectly timed to match our coming change of season, this fresh breath of Spring air could only be, well, Air.
Quite simply this hush of dainty and ethereal sounds could have only been made by French hands and mouths. Taken from their fourth studio album 'Pocket Symphony', in their own words this is an apparently simple 'fairy tale of a boy meeting a girl'. And if the Frenchman was intelligible through his wispy, breathy vocal, we'd be able to understand what might be a beautiful story...
Even disregarding the lyrics, this magical slice of fantastical beauty evokes a fairy tale that words couldn't possibly begin to express. The addition of a Shamisen, a popular Japanese instrument allegedly taught to Air's Nicolas Godin by an Okinawa master, takes Air into a higher realm, adding to their sonic architecture. This music surely must have been the soundtrack to the garden of the Eden.
But while it's as lush as only Air know how, this is no perfect day in paradise. The band still manage to maintain a very careful underlying tension whilst being so beautiful that it's a struggle to hold back the tear in the corner of your eye. With 'Once Upon a Time' Air maintain their chill-out crown, and propel themselves into a new realm of other-worldly sounds. Listen to re-instate faith in the finely crafted and artistic sounds that humans are able to create.
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