After the rather bizarre split of Aeroplane a couple of months ago, Vito De luca is flying solo now, the split was amicable and has seen Stephan create a new disco moniker the Magician. So all is good. Now that Aeroplane are one, they are about to release probably the most anticipated album of 2010 so far. The aptly named “We Can’t Fly” finally sees its release on 27 September on Wall of Sound.
Recorded in all four corners of the world including Toulouse, Paris, London and Los Angeles it was co-produced by Bertrand Burgalat and is one the finest debut albums of 2010. It can sit along side the greats like, Destroy Rock n Roll, Homework, Moon Safari and a shed-load of others.
It’s grown up, dazzling, sonically prefect, and showcases not just a passion for stately, soulful disco and early 80s electronica, but a lush and bittersweet set of influences that stretch from Abba and film soundtracks to Floyd, the Stones and Italian crooners. This melting pot provides the backdrop to Aeroplane’s 21st century take on balearic house.
The classically trained Vito opens the album with the highly accomplished “We Can’t Fly”, which is a languid, show stopping anthem-to-be, and will surely capture the mind of anyone who has heard it. A perfect start to album in every sense.
We Cant Fly by Aeroplane (Official)
The Kraftwerkian intro to “Mountains of Moscow” combine perfectly with the dramatic piano solo to give the track a presence and drama rarely seen in todays over bearing four-on-the-floor world of dance music.
Early favourite “Superstar” gets you in the mood to dance – it’s inspired by the Giorgio Morder, whose gleaming electronic scores were made famous by Scarface and Midnight Express. Vito describes it as “Moroder meets Canned Heat”. And Superstar features vocoder vocals from Vito himself, Moroder was so impressed that he has already laid down the vocals for an alternative version of the track, which will be released later in the year. Cannot wait.
Superstar by Aeroplane (Official)
Moroder wasn’t the only hero of Vito’s to feature – Merry Clayton lends here formidable vocal-talents to make a rare piece of soulful disco pop in the shape of “I Don’t Feel” with more than a wiff of 80’s Tina Turner, which is emotional and exciting in equal measure and is a truly inspiring piece of music.
The finest song on the album and for us, and one that shows you what Aeroplane can do when it comes down to more dance-floor centric disco, is “My Enemy” – the rolling beats and overly dramatic violins – create a track that takes your breath away and is quickly becoming our favorite track of the album.
The roster of guest singers is impeccable. Nicolas Ker, the frontman of French italo-disco outfit Poni Hoax, adds a sullen elan to “Fish in the Sky”, an electro torch song worthy of Human League, while dream-pop outfit Au Revoir Simone breathe delicate harmonies over the woozy ballad “We Fall Over”, and London’s Jonathan Jeremiah transforms “Good Riddance” into a low-slung slice of honky-tonk soul.
We can’t come up with enough superlatives for this album; rarely does an album exceed and beat into submission the hype surrounding it. But Aeroplane has done just this. We Can’t Fly, promises to take Aeroplane’s passengers on a first class, round-trip of electronic psychedelia.
HBF Rating 8/10
And try out one of their famous mixtapes, as they are part of the reason why they have owned the blogoshpere.
