Air or the difficulty to follow up a universal record
could be the title of the Air biography. Since the release
of the ubiquitous and defining Moon Safari
back in 1998, French duo Air have, on one hand, struggled
to produce consistent records, and on the other, almost
constantly fallen short of expectations. Following the
release of a handful of EPs in the mid-nineties, and
a first mini album, Premiers Symptomes, Jean-Benoît
Dunckel and Nicholas Godin, both hailing from the suburbs
of Paris, produced one of the defining albums of the
end of the Century with Moon Safari, seemingly
capturing the moment with their luscious electronic
melodies, sixties pop influences and soft analogue sounds,
placing themselves at the forefront of the chill out
scene which consequently flourished with the arrival
of bands such as Blue
States, Bent and Zero 7. Yet, their consequent project,
the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin
Suicides, failed to meet critical acclaim, and
most importantly connect with the masses in the same
way. Their next proper album, 10,000Hz
Legend was symptomatic of almost any follow-up
to a successful record in that it reacted to the cheerful
atmospheres of its predecessor by going the opposite
way, delving into darker, prog-rock influenced, territories.
If at times a tad pompous, this album proved a far better
record than the Virgin Suicides soundtrack
could have presaged.
After the much ignored and somewhat difficult collaboration
with Italian poet Alessandro Barrico on City Reading:
Tre Storie Western, the French duo slip back into
the smooth ambiences of Moon Safari with Talkie
Walkie. Once again, Dunkel and Godin tightly weave
analogue and acoustic sounds together, occasionally
adding soft-spoken lyrics to the mix. Recorded between
Paris and Los Angeles, with Radiohead and Beck collaborator
Nigel Godrich behind the desk, Talkie Walkie
is as warm and inviting as it illustrious predecessor.
From the opening moments of Venus, you know
you are in familiar territory. Through kaleidoscopic
soundscapes and cinematic arrangements, the pair create
beautiful melancholic and evocative pop songs. Cherry
Blossom Girl, Biological and the stunning
Alone In Kyoto evokes the delicate tones of
All I Need and You Make It Easy, while
Another Day could well pass for this album’s
Sexy Boy. On Run, the pair create
an impressive backdrop for the quirky vocoded vocal
by wrapping it in swathes of haunting process vocals
reminiscent of 10cc’s I’m Not In Love,
and overall show an extreme attention to details all
the way through this album.
All this is absolutely fine, but it all feels a bit
lifeless and tired somehow, as on Mike Milles or Surfing
On A Rocket, where the duo desperately try to find
a way to take these tracks to another level without
ever really finding the right angle. Despite catchy
melodies and impeccable production, Talkie Walkie
gives the impression that Air seem more preoccupied
with recapturing the essence of Moon Safari
than actually focussing on developing their music and
this album can’t help but ultimately disappoint
slightly.
Perhaps more than ever before, Talkie Walkie
shows how the band’s career has been hampered
by the incredible success of their first proper album.
If not a bad album by any means, Talkie Walkie
still lacks the spark that made Moon Safari,
and to a lesser extend, 10,000Hz
Legend, such interesting records.
3.2/5 |
