Air
Talkie Walkie

To objectively evaluate an Air album, it's not necessary to listen to it multiple times, just a few times but in different ways. There are indeed two ways to express a judgment, not a final one, distinguished by the listener's psycho-physical state. At first listen, the album gives the impression of a decent work, not very innovative, calling to mind sounds typical of previous albums mixed with somewhat more pop-like elements (disregard the often negative connotation of the term pop-like).

The single Cherry Blossom Girl can easily be categorized with this definition, offering rhythms, synths, and acoustic guitars worthy of previous albums and a melody accessible even to a less demanding audience. Songs like Run and Surfin' on a rocket, on the other hand, seem rather heavy and repetitive, while the track Mike Mills, light to listen to, combines a keyboard style reminiscent of "Protestant church" with sounds that well recall the infamous Moon Safari. Alpha Beta Gaga is also enjoyable with its insistent and cheeky repetitive whistle. The rest of the album goes semi-unnoticed, except for Alone in Kyoto, on which I will comment later. END OF FIRST LISTEN.

The second listen occurs in a different psycho-physical state, perhaps closer to the one I imagine Air composing with ;-) In this situation, the sonic affinity with the first albums is more evident, and what seemed heavy (run and surfin' on a rocket) reveals itself as exhilarating, bordering on the psychedelia of the dear Pink Fluid. The repetitiveness of the electronics triumphs, leaving the listener suspended once again like in the days of 10 000 hertz legend. Even tracks overlooked on the first listen, like Universal traveller and Biological, are reborn in their naive madness. It's almost like interacting for a moment with Air's musically perverse mentality without ever capturing it fully (a sort of unattainable hyperuranic world but sometimes visible in transparency).

The conclusion of the work is excellent, Alone in Kyoto is splendid, lulling the listener with its calm into who knows what journeys... Now it's necessary to draw conclusions. Making a rough average between the different judgments based on two different situations, I would say that the album is a good work, although it stands out little for innovation compared to the previous ones, and its first listen does not particularly excite. The stars are four out of five since there are no half ratings. My rating would be 3.5, but I choose four for the esteem I have towards the French duo. Regards