Air's Love 2 Revealed
A couple months ago we mentioned Moon Safari's 10th Anniversary then apprised you of JB Dunckel scoring for a French comedy. That's well and good, but now there's news on Love 2, the French duo's fifth album and followup to 2007's Pocket Symphony. It's the first of their collections put to "tape" at their northern Paris recording space, Atlas Studio. The band handled all the vocal duties themselves and again worked with Los Angeles drummer Joey Waronker, who played with them on their "Close Up" tour in Fall 2008. You can expect Love 2 in early October. We have the tracklist and info on the first singles and upcoming tour.
The tracklist:
01 "Do The Joy"
02 "Love"
03 "So Light Is Her Footfall"
04 "Be A Bee"
05 "Missing The Light Of The Day"
06 "Tropical Disease"
07 "Heaven's Light"
08 "Night Hunter"
09 "Sing Sang Sung"
10 "Eat My Beat"
11 "You Can Tell It To Everybody"
12 "African Velvet"
Love 2 is out 10/6 via Astralwerks. A "viral single" of "Do The Joy" will be out digitally 7/7, with a proper single for "Sing Sang Sung" out 8/25. They'll launch a European tour in early 2010 at Casino de Paris then head to North America in the Spring. More details when we have more details.
Posted at 2:00 PM by brandon
Tags: Air
I look forward to being thoroughly bored again.
Score = -40
lol, i don't know you, but you sound like a cunt.
Score = 19
josie you so made me laugh, spot on comment
Score = 5
That's a mean thing to say just for having a differing opinion. I'm gonna go make some Koolaid and cry.
Score = -2
im moist at the thought of another Air release.
Score = 10
I'm looking forward to it. Air is one of those bands that have always been interesting to me. Not necessarily awesome, but always something I'm willing to listen to a given moment.
On a different topic, my God at the freakin' home page. I had to scroll halfway down just to get to the posts.
Score = 7
Moon Safari, Talkie Walkie (and The Virgin Suicides soundtrack) are top shelf, while 10,000hz and Pocket Symphony are utterly forgettable.
Score = 0
10,000 hz may have been meh overall, but Don't Be Light is a freaking fantastic track.
Score = -2
oh yeah, that's right... you are that really important and influential music critic who has opinions that really matter to me. i forgot. um, no. shut up.
Score = -7
first time on the internets?
Score = 8
I agree with you that pocket symphony is the weakest album but come on, 10 000 hz has radian on it, and that song is just incredible;
their recordings always had an amazing sound/production and they are really good and innovative live;
clearly the best french act out there
Score = 0
I aggree - Radian is a classic. Moon Safari is a formidable album - never leaves my mp3 player - a must desert island disc. If I were asked to plot in the next series of Lost, I'd take it with me!
Cheers
Score = 0
C. Science,
I will agree that Moon Safari is a great album. Ditto Talkie Walkie and Virgin Suicides. But, if you don't think 10,000 Hz Legend is an amazing album, then I really feel sorry for you. You're missing out. Mark my words: twenty years from now that album will be name-checked by up and coming bands when they talk about influences. It's ahead of it's time. Way ahead of it's time. It's a great f*ckin' album, and I know a few other people who are in total agreement with me. It's reputation will only grow with time.
The Moon Safari sound painted AIR into a corner. Everyone wants Moon Safari 2, 3, etc., etc. While it IS good, I would argue that it requires the least amount of listener effort. Damned near everybody can like it (which is a good thing), but is not as complex and sonically inventive as 10,000 Hz Legend. Talkie Walkie is something like the middle ground between the two albums.
And Pocket Symphony is a wonderful album as well. Again, it's different from their past work, and that's where people got lost. They want AIR to keep remaking past sounds. That, to me, is boring. Pocket Symphony is somnolent mood music, and that is not a bad thing. It's like the soundtrack if you were sleepwalking through the day.
Final Thought: People need to get over Moon Safari.
Score = 4
that is one of the most spot on critiques i have read on air in the space of a few paragraphs, you aren't wrong about people needing to get over moon safari, its fantastic but it shouldn't overshadow what they've done since, i've seen air live over 10 times and it kinda annoys me that the crowd seem restless during new material and yet go nuts to sexy boy and kelly like their newer stuff doesn't stand up when if they give it go it so obviously does...
i don't know theres just something really (and i hate saying this) sexy about their sound...strangely the only other bands i can think of that do the same thing to me is the stones of the late 60's early 70's and...the jesus and mary chain
Score = 3
wholeheartedly agreed
Score = 2
10,000 hz is amazing!!! I never understood the shitty reviews it got. I think it's because the tone wasn't so serious, and indie snobs are these assholes who take themselves so fucking seriously. But the songs are great. Pocket Symphony - not so great.
Score = 1
sex born poison
Score = 0
If you need some fun
some good stereo gum
radio #1
Score = 4
They "jumped the shark" when I first heard Surfing On A Rocket on some car commercial. And I agree with the person who said that Moon Safari & The Virgin Suicides Strk are the best things they've done to date. Has anyone checked out their first release Premiers Symptômes? I never got around to listening to it and wondered if it sounded anything like what they later did.
Score = -8
Yes, definitely check out Premiers Symptomes... It's pretty amazing. The entire album is great, but 'Le Soleil Est Près de Moi' is worth the price alone.
Score = 2
Not only Premier Symptomes is worth checking, but it is in my opinion one of their best recording, its pure chill sounds:; as someone says, le soleil est prés de moi is absolutely awesome and is easily my favorite air track with la femme d'argent; CHECK IT OUT
Score = 0
God I love this band.
Score = 6
10th anniversary?? Damn, I'm old.
Score = 8
I love all of their albums except for pocket symphony. I even like the DARKEL album better than that last release. This new single seems like a swing back to their Talkie Walkie sound. Thank god. If this new album misses, they should consider moving on.
Score = 0
Premiers Symptômes is, in my opinion, the best thing Air have ever done up to this point. Such an amazing recording, I just wish they would do something similar. 10,000 hz takes a while to get into, but once you do you'll appreciate how incredible it is. they usually start off their gigs with 'Radian' and it always sounds fantastic. Pocket Symphony is their weakest album so far, it's like they didn't put any effort into it at all, so i've got very high hopes for this one. I'd love to hear a sound that harks back to the Moon Safari style. They touched upon it on the brilliant Talkie Walkie, but i'd love to have another album in a similar vein! I'm not too sure what I think of "Do The joy" yet - it's got those quiet whispery vocals that were all over the previous album.
Score = 0
Look, if you think Premiers Symptômes was their best stuff "yet" then you probably don't really like Air. You might like a few songs, but that's it. Premiers Symptômes was their first release, in 1997. Before Talkie Walkie, before Moon Safari.
I actually like 10,000hz legend more than Moon Safari. I like Talkie Walkie more than Moon Safari, actually. I liked Pocket Symphony the least, although I do like it quite a bit; Napalm Love and Mer du Japon are both great things.
I don't care about Air sounding like a previous album, but I think they're at their best when they do what they do best. Simple (yet somehow complex) sounds and great chord progressions.
About "selling out" - Yes, Surfing on a Rocket was in a Nissan commercial, and I've heard their songs used on a fair numbers of other commercials and shows. Who cares? I mean, the entire "Virgin Suicides" album was created for a fee. I actually enjoy hearing music I like being used on popular mediums. Is Muse any less of a great band because Supermassive Black Hole was used in Twilight? Is Massive Attack any less great because one of their songs became the theme music for House?
From the samples of Love 2 that I've heard, it sound like it's going to be a winner. I really look forward to it, and it's going to be released soon!
Don't forget, on Monday they're doing some sort of streaming of the Love 2 album over the Internet for the entire day.
ps. Look for a bootleg called "AIRities" that's floating around out there. It's got remixes of a bunch of AIR songs; some are crap but some are actually really really good. Also has a few unreleased demos of songs later performed in the studio.
Score = 0
I totally agree this band is plagued by expectations of Moon Safari #2! And I have to say, Pocket Symphony is exactly what it aspired to be - AIR's take on a more classical contemplative vibe. In that respect it is damn awesome! It is one of my favourites 'cause again they break the mold and do something new that is so unique, beautiful and graceful. Now, they seem to be turning towards a more "rock" sound which I am excited for too ('cause they can sure rock as "Don't Be Light" proved). They have been getting better at honing their craft and the recent albums have been mini-masterpieces in very unpredictable creative path. Love them for that. True artists.
Score = 0
Some interesting comments here, I had no idea the later stuff wasn't well received (I'm generalising). I'll go so far as to say I think Pocket Symphony had me hooked from listening #1and I'm a firm believer that Space Maker should go on a lot longer than it does on the album - in the same vein as La Femme d'Argent.
Stick some very big headphones on and give the other albums another listening is what I say.
Score = 0