- Consequence of sound
- Festival outlook
A murky guitar riff fades into the air space and is soon accompanied by a haunting synth line and a accentuating drum comp. Air at its most viscerally eerie eventually falls back into the fluffy cloud on which the French duo invited its listeners over the last 12 years. The sparse piano inclusion offers their slink cocktail lounge flair and a hint of their unavoidable trademark sound. Together with the sly mystique of the band’s equally sparse vocal outings, as they recite “Do The Joy”’s title words in the chorus, the track makes for a rather expected but not at all boring opener for the band’s fifth studio album Love 2 (if not counting the film score Virgin Suicides).
There’s no doubt that Air will never top the genius brilliance of Moon Safari. To me, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have ever since that landmark album and the stellar Premiers Symptômes been two electronic wiz gentlemen slipping out of the next self-indulgent album after the other, over the time building up their own little martini-drenched, alt lounge universe in which the subtly different varieties of music connoisseurs can find a good soundtrack to implement and apply into their own urban yuppie apartment aural background. 10 000 Hz Legend was for those who romanticize of electronic music’s experimental paths into the finer rooms of music art. Talkie Walkie was the duo’s most thorough and successful idea and attempt at luring the culturally aware European trenchcoat faggot to unknowingly swallow his American influences like a well needed medicine and vice versa. Pocket Symphony was, as the title suggests, for the ipod-generation, i.e. those who no matter age were lucky to live in the age when Apple pushed its borders further forward and become a household must-have brand.
Romanticism? It’s synonymous with Air, which leads me to the conclusion that Love 2 (listen to that title again as you say it out loud) is the band’s most uninspired and ironic album to date. The mere thought of upgrading love and being the one to introduce it musically is so much hyperbole that ought to make every contemporary hipster regurgitate Our Love To Admire/Hercules & Love Affair/Bright Like Neon Love to go dust off Loveless as a panicking cure. Hold your horses, not even Air could be that blind to their own image. Love 2 is of course, it better be, a well-aimed and satirizing comment on ridiculously generic and high-flown album titles. However, as an album it’s a proof that the duo is just as in love with doing what they do best.
In fact, they love what they do so much that they let all pretenses of any possible progress in sound fly like a gentle butterfly out the window. Out it goes and Dunkel and Godin are left to dip deep into their own pot, painting a picture of a self-portrait where they’re striking a pose, infatuated by their own reflection. The album offers plenty of variation: the soft-psychedelica of “Be A Bee” feature parodically stereotypical spy movie guitars, the lovely highlight “Heaven’s Light” is a serene travel to the heavens as if straight off Moon Safari, “You Can Tell It To Everybody” could be Air’s answer to “Careless Whisper” with its cheesy sax and relaxing ballad not to mention soft-pop single “Sing Sang Sung”’s shibuya-kei-stylish lisping, sugar-coated vocals (althoug of course in French accent: “Thing thang thung, thing me that thong“). Even though immaculately produced and arranged, as always, these are all things not too far from what we’ve heard on the other Air albums. Once again in the band’s career, a few songs are memorable but the entirety make up for the most rewarding and charming listen.
To Air’s defense for seemingly carelessly and self-willingly freezing the time, I’ve got to say that the duo does stick to the fantastically nonsensical “theme” of the album and provide mid-to-high class soundtracks for a wide range of occasions. Should only they have killed some of their darlings, rearranging a fewforgettable but not forgivable passages as “Tropical Disease”’s irritiatingly slow pace and lack of anything tropical in the mix or “Eat My Beat”’s instrumental filler-rock and made the album more cohesive I might’ve passed the album on as a lovely novelty pastiche of something as crucial and plain as love. But in 2009, even Air is bleeping to weakly on the radar and Love 2 is to blame for it. Yet again, it’s hard to hate on Air. It’s hard to hate on a band that has the guts to go against the flow and freeze or even go back in time when so many bands rush past in a rampaging pursuit of progression, development and innovation, not least in electronic music.
It’s hence a bit easier to admire Air for its stubbornness, but also for the joyous moments that inspires love and passion. So I raise my glass of chardonnay to the French pop-snobs in spotless suits and salute them for their sophistication: Cheers, chaps!
Check Out:
Buy:
Love 2
TAGGED AS: Air
comments (8)
Wow, DBNick, you quickly turned the criticism up a few notches here. But I appreciate your will to discuss and reflect on the actual reviewing and writing and not just the music.
First of all, I didn’t make it clear or perhaps not mention it at all, but with this particular release I had no “expectations” whatsoever not counting the few inevitable ones you have when you get it in your hands.
Secondly I have no intentions in becoming the greatest reviewer of all time, that title would be way too subjective anyway. But of course I’m always trying to improve myself in the writing and indulge myself further into the far reaches of the English language. It seems you caught that reflection in the style of this review, and thank you for complimenting on my “skills”, even though I as a uneducated Swedish dude am quick to be humble on the matter and hush/deny any remarks of that kind.
I can tell you this however: I am absolutely set on to not fall into your ordinary music reviewer pigeonhole. I think that in the year of 2009 people are looking for even more than someone who knows what he’s talking about and puts x number of stars on albums. I hope I’m adding something original and a personal touch to the world of reviews.
Furthermore, Air had it coming. The style used here is completely intentional. I chose the verbosely prosaic, the stylistically elitistic and piquant, because I thought it would reflect and in a subtle way prove a point I had about the style of Love 2. The last sentence is the most evident example of that. Yet, just as in Love 2, there’s a core of truth behind the flamboyant exterior. I had a purpose with the “WTF” sentence you quoted. It’s supposed to have the same effect like a joke concealing an unspoken and perhaps inconvenient truth. Nothing here is bullshit, it’s all there for a purpose and I don’t regret anything or writing it this way. They had it coming. It’s a reflection of (and over) the style of the album. Does that answer why I thought this kind of prose was “necessary”?
You’re obviously right. I must’ve missed the part of being clear and expressing an opinion for the benefit of the prose since it hasn’t gone through to you. The reader is always right, in this matter anyway. But frankly, after analyzing my own text now until the sentences and words have lost all their meaning, I can honestly not see how I’m not getting through to you. In my eyes, after several out-of-body experiences and second opinions from friends, I think I did get at least a FEW opinions and thoughts across. At LEAST. I don’t know. What can I say? I can tell you right away now if you’d like. Explaining more thoroughly yet compressed:
Love 2 is an album where Air are a little too self-indulgent for their own good. The style is romantic and so typically Air to the point of being cheesy or even laughable. They come across as worryingly feeble instead. Yet there’s still a core that I love about Air and that is no matter how tongue-in-cheek or cheesy they get there’s always a love and passion for the music down below and that, to me, is irresistible. Plus the occasional hook-skills and skill of creating a very pleasant tune – not to be overlooked. So therefore Love 2 raised itself from my initial “meh” 2.0 to “not so bad after all” 3.0. Satisfied?Two more things:
YES! I am a pretentious person overall but that is not to be judged by only my reviews. You haven’t seen half of my pretentiousness! I’m pretty serious about music you know! But this was an extreme (but by far not my most extreme! you haven’t seen half of my sick, twisted language games). I can assure you that I don’t use this style all the time and that I try to adapt the style to suit the occasion and the album. So, perhaps: no worries for future reviews!
Last but not least please tell me where you got that “your niche of music” from? Look at my archive, tell me what’s my niche? Look inside my mind (been there lately? tell my mind I said hi!), what’s my niche, what’s my preference in music? I’ll tell ya: NONE and EVERYTHING! I was gonna write you could shove that “your niche of music” up yours where the sun don’t shine because prejudiced (or any at all) remarks about my musical preferences ticks me off, it’s a sore spot I’m working on. Is it OK to like/not dislike all/any styles and genres and be quite knowledgeable on a few, sorta knowledgeable on a few and at least not entirely lost on a few others? I advocate understanding and open-mindedness. But that’s a different discussion!
You’re review is overly-verbose and pretentiously-worded. I’m not saying your ability to write is bad. Quite the contrary, you are a very talented writer. But I consider myself an intelligent person. Yet, I had to read this review about eight times in order to try to understand what you actually thought of this album. Why don’t you take it easy on the “I wanna be the best reviewer out there” pills and just review an album for what it is. This review is an example of why I don’t typically read reviews seriously in the first place. Honestly, what the hell are you talking about? Are you reviewing “Love 2″ or are you lamenting on your expectations on how a new Air record should sound?
I say sincerely that you’re writing ability is indeed superb, far beyond my own ability. Congratulations. But Jesus, just review the album. You are overly-verbose and you try to stifle the great work that is this album.
A small hint: If I have to read your review 8-10 times in order to understand your actual take on the album, your writing style needs some addressing.
And WTF is this?????: “Talkie Walkie was the duo’s most thorough and successful idea and attempt at luring the culturally aware European trenchcoat faggot to unknowingly swallow his American influences like a well needed medicine and vice versa”
What are you trying to prove?! You are obviously an intelligent person and avid fan of music. Why is this kind of prose necessary?
If I had to guess, I would say your middle name is “pretentious as fuck.”
Seriously, take it down a notch. We know you are smart and knowledgeable about your niche of music. But this review is f’ing nuts!
what an insipid review.
Jesper, you are a chump of the highest order.
DBNick, how could I possible have any expectations on a record that’s called Love 2? The name is one which leaves you interested if not bedazzled. I can assure you, however, that I never go into a review with set expectations. Expectations are all right, because there’s a difference between expectations (more like theories on how this may sound) and SET expectations (more towards a conviction of how it should sound).
It kind of sounds like you had a set of expectations for this album, which left you disappointed. You even say, “It’s hard to hate on Air.” I’m not sure, after reading this review, what you actually even really thought of it haha.
Personally, I love this new record. I’d put it up next to Talkie Walkie, but obviously nowhere near Moon Safari.
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter!
more In News
- Most Popular
- Most commented
Nice review of one of my fave Eminem songs. It's strange to think of him as political, but...
Festival Outlook
- Upcoming Festivals
- recently updated
