Air | Talkie Walkie

I've really liked Air's most popular songs to date, so when I saw their new release at CD World in Eatontown, New Jersey, I went for it. To be honest, I was able to blow through the CD itself rather quickly because the up tempo tracks just don't do much for me. What I like about Air are their atmospheric, pleasant things--and the sounds they select for them from their obviously vast knowledge of vintage synthesizers and record-making in general.

Why buy Talkie Walkie? Because three tracks make the full price more than worth it. You may already be hearing the single, "Cherry Blossom Girl," on your local adult album alternative station. It's an instant hit and, like track 5 ("Mike Mills") and track 10 ("Alone in Kyoto"), it is perfectly produced and arranged. Very pleasant and definitely reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, it could take the CD into the top twenty, even here in the US (if they've got a video, etc.).

REM's bassist, Mike Mills, is no doubt pleased to see that track 5 is named after him. Like "Cherry Blossom Girl," it has a nice, intricately patterned acoustic guitar and Air's beautifully composed synth/string parts. It is wonderful. The same goes for "Alone in Kyoto," which is slightly more adventurous, features a beautiful little "Parsley, Sage"- like glockenspiel at one point and shifts into a seemingly tacked-on grand piano section before ending to the sound of ocean waves on the beach.

These three tracks are on par with, I feel, the best music ever made. It's quite possible that decades from now they'll be placed alongside "Clair de lune" on a regular basis.

Originally posted to SteveForbert.com in May 2004.