Air

Moon Safari
$6.99
Great CD, although I was a little disappointed to find that Disk 1 had some scratches on it!!

Pocket Symphony
$17.98
This album has a different sound from their seminal Moon Safari. It has a darker, more brooding sound and a bassy production that makes use of more exotic instruments. It flows very well from start to finish, and the cohesive production creates an otherworldly feel that transports the listener into the world of Air. They have a knack for accentuating music with simple, yet evocative riffs and themes from a variety of soft instruments that move without jolting.

This is more for chill enthusiasts though. People expecting anything else might be disappointed because the music is that different. Where Moon Safari has a melancholy, uplifting sound throughout, this entry alternates between menacing, driving and brooding. A great listen though and it gets better and better with more listens.

I prefer the second half of the album. Starting with Left Bank, the music becomes deeper and more engaging. It's not that the first half is bad, the 2nd half just draws me in more. Highlights:

Space Maker
Left Bank
Mer Du Japon
Lost Message
Somewhere Between Waking And Sleeping

Highly Recommended

Premiers Symptomes
$7.96
About as close to the selfless, space-pad vibe present on their smoothly influential debut sound (look at the second half of "Professionnels" and try to deny derivative acts such as Zero 7 didn't "borrow" to frame entire uninspired frameworks) , PS caught one more final glimpse of the band in full on chill mode before conscious experimentation (for better, but usually for worse) would take hold.

Love 2
$16.98
Having been a fan since Moon Safari and its nearly perfect songs, I moved on to Talkie Walkie, a very good complement to above CD. Premiers Symptomes, especially the opening tracks Modular Mix and Casanova 70 is such a mellow groove, psychedelia and slow jazz saxophone mixed into such a nice blend. I was disappointed with Pocket Symphony, not really taken by the change in direction, although the final track Night Sight is vintage Air bliss. With the release of this CD, Love 2, I was very pleased by the return of Air to its soothing, experimental, joyous and mellow selection of fine tunes. I found the tracks Be a Bee, Heaven's Light, and You Can Tell it to Everybody to be my personal favorites, and the song So Light is Her Footfall could easily have been a ballad from the 1960s. Vive La France!