The unique sound of Talkie Walkie is rarified Air

Air

Talkie Walkie

Virgin Music

Sometimes music can be…

Air

Talkie Walkie

Virgin Music

Sometimes music can be good for no other reason than that it is unlike anything else you’ve heard.

Unless you work at a college radio station or subscribe to French Electronica Weekly, the word “air” probably only conjures visions of the molecules floating around your head. But the music-producing Air serves itself well, being the last word in the descriptive phrase “like a fresh breath of …” Their latest work, Talkie Walkie, breezes through your ears like the wind sliding through tree branches.

There are 10 songs on Talkie Walkie, and each one of them sounds as if a different band created them. The instrumentation, some courtesy of electronic devices, varies so widely between tracks that nothing unifies the songs. Despite this, Air still produces an album that begs to be listened to in its entirety. Lyrics, sung in sexy French, come and go, but the pulsing music holds you.

While Air’s success has happened almost completely independent of America, Yanks who enjoy independent films may have heard them before. They did the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola’s rookie effort, “The Virgin Suicides,” in 1999. Comparisons of the band to other electronica groups fail — even those made to their fellow countrymen, the more popular Daft Punk. Still, the niche that Air has carved out for itself is finely crafted and worth exploring.

Also worth exploring is “Electronic Performers,” Talkie Walkie’s accompanying DVD, which provides viewers with proof that their seemingly strictly studio sound also goes on tour quite well. The camera work bends light and distorts shots. Woven through the performance footage are scenes of the band loading equipment into tour buses and signing autographs, providing an intimate look into the inner workings of Air.

If you’re someone who can publicly admit to owning one of the Pure Moods CD’s or are violently trying to escape the huge web of crap that’s spun endlessly on MTV and radio, pick up Talkie Walkie at your nearest commerce outlet.