Rock and Pop: Review - French electro-pop duo Air at Roundhouse
Published: 4 March 2010
by RUSSELL HANDY
FRENCH electro duo Air pushed few buttons at the Roundhouse on Friday.
Armed mainly with pedestrian tracks from their self-produced sixth album, Love 2, Air’s sole UK date was not the liveliest start to the weekend. Messieurs Dunckel and Godin have lost none of their sartorial elegance. On this showing, neither would look out of place at the opera, both entering the Roundhouse stage in regal white to a projected backdrop of twinkling stars.
This rare Friday night show was a walk at snail’s pace, with the concentration-lite crowd fast losing attention. This was minimal, technical Air.
Tropical Disease, from Love 2, showed off the duo’s credible filmscoring capabilities, as did Radian from 2001 album 10000Hz Legend, which Air also revisited for How Does It Make You Feel? and People in the City. Moon Safari crowd-pleasers Kelly Watch The Stars and a bass-heavy Sexy Boy were held back until late in the set to ensure a finale of sorts.
Since forming in the mid-1990s, Air have never set out to switch on the bpm crowd. But it could be time for the chic Parisian pair to don headphones and DJ their own tunes. Or play mellower, seated venues.