My girlfriend was born and raised in France, so when she calls Walkie Talkies, Talkie Walkies then I just assume it is a language barrier that she hasn’t got over yet. But apparently the whole of France say it. Remarkable really, considering that actually they should call them ‘Marché Parlés’ or something. Still, language is constantly evolving, as is music, and Air are pioneers of the futuristic sound.

Air first made it big in this country with the wistful ‘Sexy Boy’, a radio favourite for many weeks. Their previous albums, including Premiere Symptomes, Moon Safari and Everybody Hertz, are full of continentally flavoured electronica – light and, well, airy like a good soufflé. Intensely atmospheric, Air’s music has been inspiration to many, not least director of the moment Sophia Coppolla who employed the lads to do the soundtrack for her debut movie ‘The Virgin Suicides.’ More recently they feature on the score to her Oscar hopeful, ‘Lost in Translation’.

‘Talkie Walkie’ has the same cyber sound of previous albums but is possibly a more demure piece of work. ‘Cherry Blossom Girl’ is ‘Kelly Watch the Stars’ without the hook and ‘Run’ features trademark breathy vocals with a slightly more melancholic feel. Listening to ‘Mike Mills’ feels like walking through a psychedelic cartoon with tranquil, futureworld hippies and is a very pleasant experience.

Listening to this record in any state other than wide-awake is asking for trouble. Its soporific effect could well cause you to miss work. Fortunately the see-reason lyrics of ‘Another Day’ will help to justify this. Slightly disappointing is the inclusion of an annoyingly catchy whistling melody in ‘Alpha Beta Gaga’, which seems out of place at that point of the album, but the atmosphere is recaptured at the end with ‘Alone In Kyoto’, a tune seemingly written for use in a flotation tank.

Air probably won’t win any Oscars for this record, but have manage to produce an original sounding record using quite an old format now. As anyone who has seen their live show will know, these are the kind of songs that need to be listened to with headphones on a long journey, but they are perfectly crafted for their purpose.

words: Robin Harris

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