Air

If you like Sofia Coppola’s movies, then you probably have a similar taste for one of her favorite bands, Air. Three years since the release of their masterpiece “Talkie Walkie,” the French duo have returned with “Pocket Symphony” and a fresh supply of their patented haute-electronica. Their sound combines rigorous piano, string, and synth melodies with a variety of eclectic instrumentals, plus vocals by both group members, Nicholas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel.

In “Pocket Sympony,” Air continues to exploit their original sound and attempts to forge a perfect balance between synths and live instrumentation. However, many of the songs seem to shy away from the pulsing intensity of “Talkie Walkie” tracks like “Surfing on a Rocket” and “Cherry Blossom Girl,” and instead embrace the moody cinematic quality of their music that has landed them on so many soundtracks.

Air has created a musical sub-genre of their own by dusting off the synthesizers discarded after the 1980’s and putting them to mellow use. Their first full album, “Moon Safari,” rose to number six on the British music charts and caught the eye of writer/director Coppola, who had the group score her entire 2000 film, “The Virgin Suicides.” The group has since grown in popularity with the continued support of Coppola’s films (“Lost in Translation,” “Marie Antoinette”) and the success of “Talkie Walkie.”

The new album opens with a chilled-out, instrumental introduction appropriately entitled “Space Maker,” which warms listeners up to the vibe of the following tracks. This is followed by a trademark rolling piano line in the album’s first single “Once Upon a Time,” which is nestled between chiming synths and the singers’ accented English vocals.

“One Hell of a Party” features a mandolin and vocals by Jarvis Cocker, the frontman of former Britpop band Pulp. The track underscores the decidedly un-boisterous nature of the album. Later, “Mayfair Song” follows with piano chords and an electronic beat slow enough that the song comes dangerously close to “easy listening.” The song is ultimately rescued in typical Air fashion with echoing choral “ahhs” and synth.

The ominous intro to “Photograph” is reminiscent of “The Virgin Suicides” and maintains intensity without an overstated volume or tempo. “Mer du Japon,” a further exploration of Air’s quite apparent Asian fetish, is closer to “Talkie Walkie” than any of the proceeding tracks. The song even comes fully equipped with a bridge devoid of all other sounds besides waves crashing and a tragic-sounding mandolin.

“Redhead Girl” finally brings the album’s latent intensity to the forefront. The peaceful wind chimes that open the song lead into a heartbeat’s thump and grave chords strikingly similar to those in Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away.” The vocals move through the song like mist over a still lake, and Air’s dreamy trance hits a fever pitch.

While “Pocket Symphony” is by no means “Talkie Walkie,” you’ll still find yourself eager to explore Air’s breathless cosmos.

—Reviewer Andrew F. Nunnelly can be reached at nunnelly@fas.harvard.edu.