French groovers Air have always been a favorite in my household, be it when I'm chilling after some hard-working day or even at the beginning of one, their sweet brand of vintage electronic euro-pop is able to do the trick every single time I put one of their CDs on.

So, it was with some expectation/trepidation that I waited to put my hands on their newest album, tentatively titled LOVE 2. And, accordingly, I received it with some mixed feelings. While on one side you get what they've always done best (effortlessly melodic instrumental incursions into electronica), you also get to hear them at their most blatant automatic pilot songwriting of late. Which means you get the usual great tracks you will grow to love and repeatedly play, but you also are forced to hear some pretty uninspired songs clearly in need of some TLC thrown into them.

But at the end of the day, I much prefer an o.k. AIR album to the crap I keep hearing on the radio everyday. On that note, I leave you with the album opener - Do the Joy - one of the standouts on their new album. See you soon.