Air 'Pocket Symphony' - thoughts?
 

I must admit the reviews I have read of their new album haven't been all too positive. What do other's think - I'd like to get a sense of others opinions before I purchase it.

Where is <i>that thing</i>?! I know I put it around here somewhere.

It's gotta be around here. It just <i>has</i> to...

AH! <a href="http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=489227" alt="The other Pocket Symphony thread" target="_PreviousDVDTalkAirPSthread">THERE</a> it is!!!

:p

Although, I searched as well for the word's "pocket symphony" and nothing came up. Somethin' faulty in the search engine, methinks!
-ringding-

New album is growing on me...I'm not digging the guest vocalists though. Wish there were a few more instrumentals as well.

quite boring to me, honestly. they sound more and more like soundtrack music with each release. someone breathe life back into these guys!

only listened to it once, and from what i remember, it's their most mellow stuff yet. nothing sounded like 'air', sounded more like a zero 7 album.

Sounds like Air to me. I love this album. Love it.

I thought it was quite boring too.

I don't love it, I don't hate it, looking forward to the live show though in may.

Average Air is still better than all those crap electronic bands (Zero 7, Frou Frou, etc.).

actually got a chance to listen to a friend's copy, and I honestly have to say this was a complete throwaway and yes, boring album. It was so repetitious and the two guest vocal cuts were so subpar. Only one song seemed to have any life or bounce to it, but on the whole, ugh what a waste.

here's the North American tour dates:

Sat 04/21/07 Vancouver, BC Richard's On Richards

Sun 04/22/07 Portland, OR Crystal Ballroom

Mon 04/23/07 Tacoma, WA Pantages Theatre

Wed 04/25/07 San Francisco, CA Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium

Thu 04/26/07 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel - The Joint

Fri 04/27/07 Tempe, AZ The Marquee Theatre

Sun 04/29/07 Indio, CA Empire Polo Field

Wed 05/02/07 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue

Fri 05/04/07 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre

Sat 05/05/07 Toronto, ON Kool Haus

Sun 05/06/07 Montreal, QC Metropolis

Tue 05/08/07 Philadelphia, PA Theater Of Living Arts

Wed 05/09/07 Washington, DC 9:30 Club

Thu 05/10/07 New York, NY Theater at Madison Square Garden

Really looking forward to this show tomorrow night now. or tonight whichever time zone you are in!

I'm going to the Chicago date. Here's to hoping the set is front loaded with "Talkie Walkie" songs. Although I can't wait to here the live version of "Mer De Japon" & "Mayfair Song".

I hope they play 'People in the City' it's quite bombastic and crunchy live...

hope they have the same guitarist this time around, he was a blast to watch, he was so energetic with his long hair bouncing all around, you could tell he was milkin' his performance to such prog-rock effect.

$60 incl fees for the show 2nite. its in the same place where I got my Citizenship, a Mason's hall. I'll take the camera and see if I can get a couple of pics.

Saw Air in Tacoma this past Monday. A very mixed set including songs from all albums except the soundtrack from The Virgin Suicides. I don't know how varied their sets are between cities, so you may get something different, but we did hear People In The City, and Mer du Japon (I think). No Mayfair Song.

From Talkie Walkie was Venus, Cherry Blossom Girl, Run, and Alone In Kyoto. The closer of La Femme D'Argent was spectacular as usual live. The biggest cheer from the audience was for Sexy Boy. (Really anything with Nicolas Godin on the vocoder got huge reactions.)

The backing band stayed almost entirely in shadows during the show. There was definitely no question that Air is Nicolas and Jean-Benoit.

The mix was terrible, with the bass up loud enough to clip during every song. I was close to the stage and don't imagine it sounded better further back. It was a great show regardless though.

boooo, as I noted before, the backing band the last time around added alot to the performance.

Dammit...they better play "Surfing On A Rocket".

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...TL._AA240_.jpg

Just a heads up that Charlotte Gainsbourg's first adult solo album (she's 35, the daughter of Serge and has been seen acting in movies like 21 Grams) came out in the U.S. last week titled 5:55. Air wrote the music and Jarvis Cocker wrote a bunch of the lyrics. Since I seem to be the only one who adores the new Air album, take my rec with a grain of salt! Sounds like a mellow Air recording.

Thanks for the heads up. I totally forgot about that release.

I'm trying to formulate an opinion of the 9:30 Club gig last night, and I have mixed feelings. There were alot of factors that it made it very good show, just not great.
For starters, I alreadly had a bias towards the new songs, in that I found Air's latest album a major dissappointment. After the first three songs, I checked my watch (not good, in my book). Sans the final song of the evening: 'La Femme Argent', every song averaged out to 4-5min in duration, they felt shortened. Given the last tour where the entire band was visible and very kinetic, bombastic and LOUD, this go around it seemed too laid back. The audience didn't help to the enjoyment of the show either, they all looked and acted like zombies, only the appaulse was an indication that they approved. When songs like 'People in the City', 'Don't Be Light', 'Kelly Watch the Stars' became bouncy and danceable the energy level of the band rose, considerably, the audience on the other hand seemed non-plused and unmoved.

Lastly it also didn't help that the doucheface 'drunk' behind me talked a good portion of the show early on and the guy to my right seemed high and looked like he was going get narcoleptic and fall on his face.

Man I don't know if I would find them too interesting in concert with this new album..it's a totally sleeper album for me, in that I actually fall asleep to it at night.

It's like when I saw Mum live...was totally bored. But I suppose with the mix of the old material it would be an alright show. I saw Air with Ours way back on the 10,000hz tour..and I rather liked it. Did they at least have a good light show?

yes - they did have a good light show. They made great use of the 9:30's disco ball to perfect effect for "Kelly Watch the Stars'

the first 15 minutes of the show were a dozzer, they were the new songs... ;) hence why I was like looking at my watch, thinking 'okay, this better get livelier'.

Wasn't blown away the first time I heard it, but I've listened to it more lately (I just put my iPod on play when playing Battlefield 2 on xbox live as I cannat stand anyone talking!) so really good tracks, but it doesn't match the earlier albums.
AIR are playing the o2 festival here in Hyde Park 14th June with The White Stripes and QotSA but I will be in Eurodisney so I miss them.

This was the worst of the 3 times I've seen them play, I think it was a combination of the venue, and the crowd to be honest, and then of course the new album..

I did like the show but it was a bit of a sleeper, not as much as the Sigur Ros show, I left that early as I was passing out from the boredom.

of course they had to play the best song for last... ;) they ripped through 'La Femme Argent' like there was no tomorrow, adding the beats of 'Don't Be Light' was the highlight of the entire evening...