Air - 'Talkie Walkie' (Virgin)
4/5
By: Samantha Hall
About time. 'Talkie Walkie' comes five years after landmark, French expera-dance duo Air's 'Moon Safari', when 'Sexy Boy' first massaged their garlic-soaked stamp on the world.
And through a poorly received '10,000hz Legend' and despite a soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's art-house cult classic 'Virgin Suicides', Air have somewhat drifted since '98. That is, naturally, till now; as, joyfully, 'Talkie Walkie' reunites us with the Parisian mood-enhancers that we love: two hopelessly indulgent romantics with an ear in the past - namely, via the form of 80's European electronica - and a firm eye and ideal based upon the upcoming.
What's clear from the off, is just how substantially Dunckel and Godin have contributed to the instrumental-driven electro genre; as with its predecessors, 'Talkie Walkie' carries on such great notions of time and space and emptiness - like a large fog of poignant psychedelia. The former's handling of breezy, spaced-out melodies and the re-visiting of icy synths in 'Cherry Blossom Girl' and the odd twang of a banjo amidst 'Alpha Beta Gaga' generate the prettiest dream-pop envisaged for an age... in fact, since 'Sexy Boy' itself embraced our stereos and evolved our perception of what a cool, cosmic pop song should be during the latter-90s.
And with gorgeously fragile strings - courtesy of Serge Gainsbourg collaborator, Michel Colombier - and the introduction of an outside producer (in this case Radiohead's Nigel Godrich), perhaps the subtle intervention is what has forced such beautifully measured focus. And what focus; what an utterly concentrated, touchy-feely world of monochrome intimacy they enter us into and indulge amidst.
Artists in this article: Air, Air Formation, Air Traffic, Airport Girl, Airwaves
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