Tahiti 80

There was a time a few years back when French pop music was everywhere. While some bands were a little more ubiquitous than others, like Air, Tahiti 80 flirted with success thanks to some great breezy pop songs like "Heartbeat.” Three albums later, things haven’t changed too much for the band and that doesn’t look likely to change with the release of Fosbury. These days, they sound more like Jamiroquai thanks to the greater polish that’s being added in the studio, while there’s no doubt that there’s less pop and more soul on display than before. And, in a way, that’s why Fosbury is a bit of a disappointment — it doesn’t rely so much on catchy pop goodness and loses much of that organic sound that was the highlight of their earlier albums. Like with all their other albums, it is tough to know which side of the fence to come down on. There are always enough good songs to ensure that the inevitable Tahiti 80 retrospective CD will definitely be the best record they will ever be associated with, so it might be best to just wait for that.