Review | Air perform Moon Safari and more at Summer Sessions, Southampton: 'Just sublime'

As is so often the way, there were acts who were original and pioneering, while the record labels scrambled to sign up anything similar with predictably diminishing returns.

Definitely in the former camp were French duo Air. Their 1998 debut album Moon Safari went two-times platinum and spawned a trio of hit singles.

And so we have this slightly belated 25th anniversary show, where they are playing the album in full. The ‘play it in full’ concept has been much-abused in recent years – albums distinctly less than all-killer with plenty of filler have had the treatment. But, and loath as I am to use the expression, this is an album that takes you on a journey.

From the moment the pulsing synths of La femme d'argent fill the square Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, plus their drummer, have the audience in the palm of their hands. La femme eases us gently in, as it does on the album, before Sexy Boy – the slinky song which introduced many of us to the band. Full marks too to the BSL interpreter, off stage right, who is having a ball, particularly on that track.

With the languid beats, layers of synths and heavily treated vocals, Air manage to create a sort of retro-futuristic style, it’s sci-fi pop. Dunckel commandeers banks of keyboards and various noise-making machines, while Godin flits from keys to bass and guitar with both sharing vocals.

While most songs cleave closely to their recorded versions, without Beth Hirsch present to sing All I Need, her disembodied vocals are distorted and diced up, giving the song a new dimension.

Kelly Watch The Stars is a gorgeous high point – and the huge cheer that greets it would suggest I am not alone in finding it a favourite.

As part of the Summer Sessions of shows, taking place outdoors in Southampton’s ‘cultural quarter’ as the sun sets, there’s a distinctly festival feel to proceedings. However, the band have cleverly created a white-fronted box on the stage which they perform inside. This gives things a more intimate feel, as well as providing the backdrop for a variety of projections, from the vintage video game Pong to zooming through the Solar System.

The duo rarely speak apart from to say, “thank you, merci beaucoup,” but this isn’t the kind of show where you expect banter from the band.

Once the album is done the band are free to delve into the rest of their extensive back catalogue – they have numerous other albums and soundtracks to their name.

There’s the guitar strumming of Cherry Blossom Girl with its falsetto vocals, then there’s Venus, which takes voyaging through the cosmos. But it’s a barnstorming Don’t Be Light which closes the main set and shows it’s not all music to soothe round Air’s way. Building to a climax The Chemical Brothers would give a limb for, it’s a thundering techno finale with Godin shredding on the guitar.

But they’re still not done. They return to encore with the gentle twinkling, tinkling of Alone in Kyoto and one final robotic Electronic Performers.

The sound quality and aesthetic of the night is spot on, and the music is, naturellement, sublime, nay magnifique.