Pocket Symphony

Performer: Air (2~France)
Engineer: Nigel Godrich; Darrell Thorp; Florian Lagatta
Producer: Nigel Godrich; Air
Distributor: Caroline Distribution

Notes: Air (2~France): Nicolas Godin (vocals, guitar, koto, shamisen, piano, bass synthesizer, glockenspiel, bass guitar, drum machine, tambourine); JB Dunckel (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone, percussion, sampler); Tony Allen (vocals, drum); Magic Malik (flute); Joey Waronker (drum, percussion). Released in early 2007, POCKET SYMPHONY finds Air once again working with outside singers, as the French electronica duo did on '01's 10,000 HZ LEGEND. This time around, the guests are British vocalists Neil Hannon (aka the Divine Comedy) and Jarvis Cocker (formerly of Pulp), with the latter lending his signature droll charm to the woozy "One Hell of a Party." The Hannon and Cocker tracks aside, SYMPHONY largely serves as a fine companion piece to the supremely laid-back TALKIE WALKIE, with Nicolas Godin and J.B. Dunckel once again tweaking their own half-whispered vocals under the guidance of producer Nigel Godrich (Beck, Radiohead), most notably on the dreamy, drifting "Once Upon a Time" and "Redhead Girl," which comes across as an ambient cousin to WALKIE's "Cherry Blossom Girl." While Air fans hoping for upbeat tunes like "Sexy Boy" and "Radio Number 1" will be left empty-handed, POCKET SYMPHONY reinforces the notion that Godin and Dunckel are most fascinating when thoroughly at ease.

Spin (p.86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he tunes occupy a hushed netherworld between classical minimalists like Erik Satie and Timbaland." Q (p.117) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T[he ethereal vocals and lush synths on 'Photography' and 'Napalm Love' are beautifully crafted..." CMJ (p.42) - "[F]amiliar Air, but with a decidedly more pop/rock feel. The synths still sparkle..." No Depression (p.86) - "POCKET SYMPHONY is an exercise in mournful minimalism....The great, torpid 'One Hell Of A Party' serves up the world's saddest piano..."

French postmodernists Air raid every aspect of retro pop music, from the sublime to the ridiculous, in fashioning their sonic bricolage. Everything from Krautrock-inspired electronics to 1960s lounge music is incorporated into the work of Nicolas Godin and J.B. Dunckel. Their full-length debut, 1998's MOON SAFARI, earned massive critical plaudits and put the duo at the forefront of modern, electronic-oriented pop.

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