Air - Pocket Symphony

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, Pocket 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.