In the Air
Morgan Page
Nettwerk Records.
SCQ Rating: 69%
Across adult
contemporary and trendy dance stations alike, the radio’s ablaze with “Body
Work”, a track being repeatedly touted as the new Tegan and Sara release. And
while it’s indeed the newest track we’ve heard from that duo, it isn’t exactly the
Quin sisters’ song. Conversely, not knowing Morgan Page’s name in no way means
you’ve never heard his music. The DJ typically shines the limelight onto guest
vocalists and that’s never been more apparent than on In the Air.
Besides “Body Work”
and “Video” (a second collaboration with Tegan and Sara), Morgan Page gives
color and adequate BPM to the piano stunner “Addicted” (featuring Greg Laswell)
and atmospheric title track (featuring Angela McCluskey). As with many
collaborative DJ full-lengths, Page’s role feels closer to a curator than as an
overt musical force moving through these songs, his house-beats blipping and
evaporating over dance anthems like a streamlined take on The Postal Service.
Page’s ability to keep things light and mobile occasionally even distracts from
his contributors’ tendency to wallow around the same pool; “Light Years”
(featuring Richard Walters) initially sounds like an inverted version of
“Addicted”, whereas a trance-y take on Sting’s “S.O.S (Message In a Bottle)” results
in a fun, if unnecessary, aside.
This is unapologetic pop music, after all, and
although Page doesn’t tend to get as much attention as his vocalists, the
romantically yearning vibe that permeates In the Air would capsize without his balanced touch.
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