Track Listing

1. Venus
2. Cherry Blossom Girl
3. Run
4. Universal Traveler
5. Mike Mills
6. Surfin' On A Rocket
7. Another Day
8. Alpha Beta Gaga
9. Biological
10. Alone In Kyoto

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24200 in Music
• Released on: 2004-02-17
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Talkie Walkie comes five years after their landmark Moon Safari and Parisian mood-enhancers Air are back doing what they do best. Famously shy of ever repeating themselves, JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin have filled in the years with the poorly received follow-up, 10,000hz Legend (even they think it strange), and an eerily effective soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's Virgin Suicides. Nice enough in their own niche way, but a far cry from what people actually wanted.

Happily, Talkie Walkie reunites us with the Air that we love: two hopelessly indulgent romantics with an ear in the past and an eye on the future. It's meltingly good stuff--a collection of cool, cosmic pop songs that dispense with notions of time and space, wallowing instead on a cloud of poignant psychedelia. With vocal duties this time taken by the boys themselves, and gorgeously fragile strings courtesy of Serge Gainsbourg collaborator, Michel Colombier, they get off to a good start. Perhaps the introduction of an outside producer, in this case Radiohead's Nigel Godrich, has forced such beautifully measured focus? Whatever, touchy-feely epics such as the heavenly "Cherry Blossom Girl" sit well next to electronic masterpieces such as "Ran," whose enveloping tracked vocals recall the 10cc classic "I'm Not in Love." --Paul Tierney

Customer Reviews

As good as Moon Safari with better flow throughout the album
Personally I like this album much better than Moon Safari. The type of music on this cd compared with Moon Safari is much more chill and the songs flow very smoothly from one to the next. And where on Moon Safari there were 3 really good tracks and the rest were not as strong, on this album all songs are perfect examples of ambient music. None of the songs are boring, make you want to hit the skip button, or get tiresome after a few listens. This is quite simply an amazing cd. This cd and band are levels above Zero 7 in their musical ability.

The only con of this album is its short length (45 min). But what an amazing amount of quality and pleasure that Air has fit into those 45 minutes.

Chillin' in the Fresh Air.
Detached, hypnotic, and retro is how I would describe the sound of this highly-polished CD. Released in 2004, Talkie Walkie is the fourth release from the Île-de-France electronica duo Air, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. (The name "Air" is an acronym for Amour, Imagination, Rêve.) Not only is Air's music a chillout blend of Love, Imagination, and Dreams, but it is a light blend of psychedelic musical influences (including Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, Serge Gainsbourg, and Jean Michel Jarre). Standout Talkie Walkie tracks include "Alone in Kyoto" (which was featured in the 2004 film Lost in Translation, "Cherry Blossom Girl," "Surfing on a Rocket" (yes,you've heard this song in a Nissan commercial) and "Alpha Beta Gaga" (yes, you've also heard this song in a Heineken beer ad). The complete album setlist includes:

1. Venus (4:04)
2. Cherry Blossom Girl (3:39)
3. Run (4:12)
4. Universal Traveler (4:22)
5. Mike Mills (4:26)
6. Surfing On A Rocket (3:43)
7. Another Day (3:20)
8. Alpha Beta Gaga (4:39)
9. Biological (6:04)
10. Alone In Kyoto (4:51)

G. Merritt

Yet another review...
After 70 previous reviews, I was reluctant to add my 2 bobs worth, but, hey, why not? Better than Moon Safari for me, but both are enjoyable and worth buying. My girlfriend, who had never heard Air before, went into a bit of a trance when I played the disk in the car. Cherry Blossom Girl is delightful and the album is worth buying for that song alone. For lovers of synthesised sounds and daydreaming.