CD Review
Air-Talkie Walkie
Sure on the surface Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin do not seem like a threat, but Air’s music is chilling. They composed the score for Sophia Coppola’s film The Virgin Suicides and most of music can be included in a horror film with their dark and doomed undertones. When Dunckel and Godin aren’t frightening people with their horror film songs, they frighten people with their talent. Blissful spacey songs invade the listener’s mind coaxing him/her to relax with their latest . Though it still remains a mystery why they named the album Talkie Walkie, the album is without a doubt is a chef-d’oeuvre (a masterpiece).
The opening track is similar to “Playground Love” with its lyrical content, but musically the song is more optimistic and sincere. There’s also handclaps which is always exciting and makes the song about ten times catchier. Nothing seems out of place or too intense in the song so it creates a soothing effect on the listener. It’s questionable why they chose a female vocalist, Jessica Banks, to sing on “Cherry Blossom Girl” instead of singing it themselves. The female voice helps the song become even more gentle like cherry blossoms floating in the wind, which is probably why they chose Banks to guest on it. However, it would be more persuasive if Dunckel or Godin sang it, because one or both of them composed the song and possibly experienced that frustrating amount of timidness.
“Run” could be split into two very different songs. They violate the innocence of the xylophone by producing such a seductive song about convincing a “holy girl” to stay. In the middle of this, the listnener is transported to an Enya-esque surreal world with heavenly voices. These two themes alternate through the song to alleviate the darkness and sensuality laced within “Run”. The exotic drums and guitar riffs delivers the listener alongside Air and their voyages in “Universal Traveller”. The distortion of keyboards reminds the listener of whale cries and they even mention the sea with, “if you have a look outside on the sea everything is so white it’s so wonderful." Someone asked if some cheesy magic show was on TV. Nope, just Air and it’s so wonderful.
One encounters the first pure instrumental song with “Mike Mills” The string arrangements are so pretty when accompanied by repetitive keyboard and guitar notes. How does one surf on a rocket? Unfortunately, “Surfing on a Rocket” does not instruct anyone on how to surf on a rocket, but it does alleviate tension. It was clever how they included “5 4 3 2 1 0" without sounding cheesy, but how can one sound cheesy when dealing with rocket surfing? So much for being optimistic, “Another Day” is the most depressing song on the record. With lyrics such as, “Say goodbye sunshine cause it’s just another day. You will lose it anyway. Kiss the time that goes away” can put anyone in the doldrums.
“Alpha Beta Gaga” begins pretty intense with people talking loudly in the background with the anticipating guitar riff. But then the whistling comes into effect and the song becomes carefree accompanied with strings and complete with a banjo. “Biological” is the best candidate for The Virgin Suicides soundtrack, if it was lacking songs. With the strings and haunting voices it makes the song incredibly skin crawling. The lyrics just exacerbate the creepiness factor, “Your blood is red it’s beautiful. Genetic Love...I need your DNA”. Maybe this is the sign of true love, wanting your mate’s DNA because his/her blood is so beautiful. Sophia Coppola is such a fervent fan of Air that she asked for a song for her latest film Lost in Translation. They composed the melancholy song, “Alone in Kyoto”; it’s not exactly depressing and it’s not gushing with joy. Towards the end of the song, there is a piano solo accompanied by rolling waves and a guitar that makes the song lean more towards the depressing side. The song leaves the listener with a suspended note.
The album is as a whole is an emotional rollercoaster, but more of a kiddie coaster, because though it may seem intense in some parts, they add something else to even out the emotions in the song. They have the gift to blend electronic elements with instruments and vocals to produce works of art. The album nears around forty-five minutes, but it seems a lot shorter. The only complaint is that they only have ten songs on the CD and not more; at least the bonus DVD compensates for it somewhat. A.