Air
Premiers Symptomes
[Source]
Rating: 7.8
A refreshing change from the Average White Band, Air's Premiers Symptomes
has it all, baby. It is so smooth... Smooth like the pina colada I'm about to
order. Ooooh yeah, smooth. The sound of a lazily tapped hi-hat, chattering
brushes, the shake of a maraca, all overlaid with unhurried and unobtrusive
synth melodies... the bass keeping time for the horn section... did I say it was
smooth?
This is free jazz lacquered with electronica, impeccably clean, lacking any sense
of awkwardness or amateurism, Premiers Symptomes' only drawback is that
it's merely 27 minutes long (just five tracks) and it leaves you wanting more.
Perhaps that was its purpose, what with the recent release of their full- length
Moon Safari. It'd be enough to make me think if it wasn't so, so smoooth.
Would you like a sip? Yes, there. As I was saying, the balance between the
electronic and organic is superb, craftily whetting the appetite for future
treats.
-James P. Wisdom