I scored a great deal on a pair of the waif-ish Totem Arros and started playing some of my favorite CDs. They all sounded pretty good as the Arros put out a huge soundstage, but then I got to Air’s Talkie Walkie from 2004. It had always sounded somewhat cutesy before, I mean, they’re French guys after all. But now, I’m totally floored…c’est fantastique! I finally realize why they named themselves Air. They throw out dense, swirling layers of sound that are at the same time totally ethereal; I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything quite like it. It is similar to what Roxy Music achieved with the 1982 release of Avalon but with significantly improved recording and playback technology that allows one to really hear the skill and craft these guys put into their music.French Pop + French (Canadian) speakers = a sonic revelation...an aural ephiphany..."wonderful, wonderful, and yet again wonderful".
2 comments:
Great review! I used to love Roxy Music, and later Bryan Ferry's solo efforts. I'll have to check these guys out.
'Avalon' is one of my faves from way back as I loved the very ‘airy’ LP version. Alas, the transfer to CD compressed the sound and clipped the upper frequencies so some of the feel was lost. Brian Ferry’s ‘Taxi’ isn’t as interesting compositionally but sounds totally fab on CD, so worth looking into.
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