Air

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Air, named after the most unbreakable substance in the world, stick to that maxim on their follow-up to 2007's Pocket Symphony. True, there's a newfound blues-rock edge in places, and their habitual cinematic pose is touched up with synth-pop styling -- Nouvelle Vague meets new wave. But the album is suffused with the kind of gauzy light you'd expect from Sofia Coppola's longtime collaborators. As ever, their '60s-meets-'90s electronic chamber pop is wistful and winking at once: chill as a glass of Moet and light as the bubbles on top.

Air's electro-pop generally lives up to the group's name. But their fifth LP sounds a bit, well,
polluted. "The world is on the brink … of extinction," intones a fried robot voice on the
opener, "Do the Joy," while vintage synths ride a gnarly stoner-rock bass line. Actually, the
new dirt and gravitas are refreshing, as is the groove weight of guest drummer Joey
Waronker. "Eat My Beat" conjures crisp blaxploitation funk, "Night Hunter" soun... More >