POP

(Virgin)

It is easy to forget that Air started off as a truly saucy electropop band; ‘Sexy Boy’ and ‘Kelly Watch the Stars’ making hearts flutter and feet twitch in a beautiful geek love kind of way. After spending several albums trying really hard to discover their inner Pink Floyd they’ve stepped back from the brink with this similarly lush but more diverse offering. Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon lend vocals to a pair of tracks to great effect but at heart this is gentle (but not genteel) sophisticated pop to soundtrack your first trip to the moon, should Richard Branson ever get his act together with his space shuttle.