Artistic growth and progress aren't always everything they're cracked up to be. Not if your fan base isn't going along for the ride, that is.

Parisian ambient electro-pop duo Air learned that lesson the hard way a few years back when their sophomore disc 10,000 Hz Legend -- which found them expanding their palette to include prog, post-rock and psychedelia -- crashed and burned faster than Ozzy in a jet pack.

So, being no airheads, they have wisely retreated to the safe ground of their lauded debut disc Moon Safari. The minimalist beatbox rhythms and swaying grooves, the lush strings and swirly textures, the layers of Vocorder harmony and processed vocals, the pretty melodies and superficial suavity of these tunes -- they're all designed to win back the ears and hearts of the faithful. And perhaps they will; there's no denying cuts like the sadly plodding Venus, the itchy alien ballad Run, the shimmering twanger Surfing on a Rocket, and the Asian Alone in Kyoto (from Lost in Translation) are as compelling and cinematic as anything Air have done.

Now they just have to figure out what to do for a followup.

Track Listing