Air

Pocket Symphony

(Astralwerks)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

Anyone who ever thought that Air needed to chill out even more will be smitten by Pocket Symphony, the French duo’s fourth studio full-length. Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoit-Dunckel, the mainstream masters of ambient electronica and cinema-friendly instrumentals, admirably display little desire to regurgitate their biggest successes. There are still vocals via guest starpower (Jarvis Cocker and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon), but there’s no reprise of the strutting synth-pop of “Sexy Boy” or even the upbeat accessibility of tracks like “Alpha Beta Gaga.” Instead, Godin and Dunckel, along with producer Nigel Godrich, opt for an album that is a pretty and unassuming wallflower: very easy to admire from a distance, but hard to fall for completely. For all of the compelling embellishments—like a newly discovered fondness for traditional Japanese instrumentation—too many of their tranquil piano lines and gentle electronic flourishes either bleed into one another or are diluted by lyrical schmaltz. Few bands so brazenly toe the line between ethereal transcendence and New Agey massage parlors.