Beulah Land

Air-Pocket Symphony

(this low resolution image doesn't do it justice, but the album artwork for this record is fucking swank)


I want to make a disclaimer. I'm not going to start reviewing stuff. I'll continue to post mainly stuff I think is brilliant and that everyone should own. I'm only posting this, because I know a lot of my friends, especially ones in ohio probably want to hear this. Ok, here's Air's upcoming march 6th release, Pocket Symphony, as promised. It's pretty good. There are a few missteps. The worst of which being the utterly painful, One Hell of a Party, featuring the singer from The Divine Comedy. But overall, I'm pretty pleased with what I'm hearing. At first glance, I was a little afraid Air finally tipped over the edge of the "easy listening" cliff they've been straddling for so long. And maybe they have. The opener, Space Maker, has a bass line that really grinds on my nerves. I'm reminded of that live dvd they put out in '99, eating sleeping waiting and playing. Every time they cut to concert footage this DOUCHEBAG is strutting all over the place, improvising these awful, slick ass, grand-standing, I-think-I'm-a-badass-but-I'm-really-just-a-douchebag bass lines. I really wanted to choke that guy. Anyway that's the same sort of bass playing you hear on Space Maker.
But if you hold out past the first few tracks (approximately four, or right to the middle of Mayfair Song) it starts to pick up. the high points are the understated photograph and the tremendous Mer du Japan. Which of course is japanese for Mer of Japan (dumb. I know. I couldn't help myself).
All in all, this isn't Talkie Walkie or Moon Safari. But it's still an interesting listen. If for no other reason than that, more than any other air album, this stands together as a blueprint for how to ape a few bars of Debussy, loop it, and turn it into pallateable pop music, which I think is on the official website as their mission statement or something.... if it's not it should be.