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Air
Pocket Symphony
(Aircheology-Virgin/EMI)
Sometimes Air make albums. Sometimes Air make soundtracks. With their fourth studio effort Pocket Symphony, the French electronica duo have made an album that sounds like a soundtrack.
On these dozen cuts, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel find a way to merge the cinematic ambience and experimentation of 2001's 10,000 Hz with the poppier and more accessible fare of their 1998 debut Moon Safari and 2004's return to form Talkie Walkie -- and acknowledge the Asian influence that has been creeping into their work since Lost in Translation.
The result: Stylishly accomplished tracks that combine sweeping arrangements, sophisticated orchestrations, melancholy melodies and the occasional Japanese koto with gently propulsive beats, contemporary electronics and lightly barbed vocal hooks.
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Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon cameo on a couple of cuts, while star producer Nigel Godrich captures it all with his usual balance of sonic sophistication and technical skill. But ultimately, Godin and Dunckel are the stars of their own show here.
Now they just have to wait for Sofia Coppola to write the movie.
Track Listing:
1. Space Maker
2. Once Upon A Time
3. Hell Of A Party
4. Napalm Love
5. Mayfair Song
6. Left Bank
7. Photograph
8. Mer du Japon
9. Lost Message
10. Somewhere Between Waking And Sleeping
11. Redhead Girl
12. Night Sight