For three albums Bliss N Eso have unashamedly been telling us just how good they are – I never believed them. Or, perhaps more precisely, they never managed to convince me of the fact. Precociously talented, the Sydney trio's records have always contained moments of brilliance. Such moments however, have always been the exception, not the rule. With their 2008 release Flying Colours, the scales began to tip the other way; they delivered an album that was lyrically considered, musically accessible and diverse enough to appeal to the wide mainstream audience Australian hip-hop music so desperately covets. And, on Flying Colours, when they hit the mark, they did so spectacularly; sampling Angus and Julia Stone’s 'Paper Aeroplane' was a unequivocal master stroke. Maybe they were as good as they’d been spruiking all these years? I still wasn’t convinced.I am now. After one listen of their latest record, Running On Air, I felt like the boys had jumped through the speakers, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, slapped me in the face and exclaimed “we told you so…and you’re a bit of a dickhead for not believing us in the first place.” This is a career defining album; an album by which every new hip-hop release in this country will be judged, and deservedly so.Sonically, the album is astonishing – a combination of talent and, undoubtedly, cash. Production was predominantly handled by Hattori Hunzo, the ubiquitous M- Phazes and Matik. These three represent the best of Australia’s production talent and they’ve created a sound that is ridiculously slick and that keeps the listener guessing at every turn. (One of them here had the gall to sample Kasey Chambers - the jury’s still out.) Running On Air opens with 'Never Land' an unnecessary but excusable voiceover and musical introduction. There’s some guy talking about a bird with no legs and the wind. Seemingly it’s an attempt to say something profound, but really, all it does is get in the way of listening to the music. Skip it and get to the good stuff. The album really takes off with the galloping drums and ear piercing horn section of 'Flying Through the City'. This is vintage Bliss N Eso with both MCs duelling rapidly over a bouncing bass line, interrupted only by a sample of Quincy Conserve’s 'Alright in the City' which cleverly serves as the songs vocal hook. It’s a fitting opener and one that sets the precedent for what’s to follow.Hattori Hunzo’s production skills come to the fore on 'Addicted'. The song opens with the simplest of piano chords for Eso to rap over before a rolling drum marks the beginning of an intricate amalgamation of live instrumentation and sample based production that crescendos into a song that soars. Both Bliss and Eso are at their lyrical sharpest, questioning the socio-political status quo in a manner that matches the uplifting nature of the music. In fact, much of Running On Air sounds like an ode to ‘keeping your chin up’ and ‘staying true to yourself’; there's an overwhelming sense of positivity throughout the entire record. Songs like 'Moses Twist' and 'Family Affair', whilst sonically very different, both have a sermonized quality to them, yet stop well short of annoyingly preachy. It is a clear sign that the group has matured as artists and are now fully comfortable with who they are as both people and musicians.If it’s big name collaborations you’re after then Running On Air has you well and truly covered. American heavy weight Exhibit broods on 'People Up On It', the United Kingdom’s Jehst rhymes beautifully over a meandering M-Phazes beat and the Wu- Tang Clan’s RZA guests on 'Smoke Like a Fire'. To be honest, these tracks are some of the albums least successful and tend to stick out for their novelty factor more than their quality.In an album littered with highlights, two tracks stand out from the rest – 'Reflections' and 'Weightless Wings'. The later demonstrates why Matik (the producer behind Pez’s highly acclaimed debut, A Mind of My Own) is Australia’s most promising new talent – he has crafted a subtlety complex beat studded with xylophone, organ and guitar. It provides the perfect grounding for Bliss and Eso to way lyrical about the intricacies and the nuances of everyday life. It is a masterpiece. Guided by a lone acoustic guitar and a strolling slide guitar riff, 'Reflections' will be the hit of this year’s summer festival circuit. With an insatiably catchy chorus and lyrics like “happy with my reflection \u002F even though I’ve done dumb shit” it will unquestionable become the anthem for the bemused and boozed festival crowd.The one thing I’ve always found hard to reconcile with Bliss N Eso’s music is the disparity between the two MCs – Bliss is a good MC, Eso is one of Australia’s finest. On previous albums, the divide frustratingly marred tracks rendering them good, but not great. On Running On Air, this has all changed; Bliss has found his voice as an MC and can now match his counterpart both in style and substance. Overall it makes for a more holistic experience.Running On Air is going to blow listeners expectations out of the water. For a generation that has grown up on Australian hip-hop music, it will function as the album that smashed down the gates of popular culture, blowing open accessibility for others to follow. Conversely, it will serve as a reminder to all aspiring hip-hop artists that the bar has been raised and a new standard set.