MOON SAFARI is the debut album by french electronic duo AIR, released 1998. But is it good?
AIR is a band I originally heard of on the soundtrack to one of my favourite films, Lost in Translation, with their song "Alone in Kyoto" soundtracking one of the most poignant moments in the film. That song isn't on this record, but it's by far their most critically acclaimed work, so here we are- MOON SAFARI.
It's fair to say that france has had quite a significant electronic music scene since the 90's, with more recent bands like Justice and Daft Punk in the 2000s and newer acts like Perturbator and Carpenter Brut proving that this is a country with a significant history in electronic music- even getting as mainstream as David guetta, and as challenging and as obscure as Musique concrète, so this is just one of many bands continuing a legacy. But what does the music sound like?
Well, as the name AIR and MOON SAFARI suggest, the music is exceptionally laid back and aloof. Even in just opening track LA FEMME D'ARGENT, the band demonstrates their ability to create totally laid back, but still interesting and listenable music. The sound palette ranges from these tribal sounding drums to shiny synthesizers, spacy effects, a mixture of highs and lows and just some fantastic keyboard work throughout.
Second track SEXY BOY trades in some of the restraint of the first track for a heavy helping of early 2000's energy- the drums and the woozing guitar combined with the vocal hook, and the ride-heavy drum beat feel like a pretty exhausted trope from mid-2000's pop, despite this coming out in '98. Even tho it sounds like I'm shitting on the song, I actually do like it alot- the muted vocals in the verse with the fluttering backing track are really good, as well as the rest of the production. The song threatens to start dragging on at nearly 5 minutes long, but never quite does, which I think is a testament to this band's ability to remain interesting and engaging.
ALL I NEED features the first of 2 vocal features by Beth Hirsch, which are coincidentally (?) two of the best tracks on the record. Her vocals have this utter sensuality and smoothness which compliment AIR's style perfectly. Her vocal performance has so much personality and expression, The song is just really really nice.
KELLY WATCH THE STARS is probably one of my least favourite tracks on the record. It's vocal hook comes off as kind of goofy, and the synth line in the chorus feels kind of generic. It probably doesn't help that it has this fluttery intro that's practically interrupted by the main body of the song which just throws you off completely. The robot filtered vocals are pretty crap and don't add a whole lot to the song either. I like the last quarter or so of the song, but it's not really worth sitting thru the first 3 quarters for. Just kind of a real dud in the tracklist honestly.
TALISMAN is a return to form. The track builds up this kind of ominous energy and tension with this hi hat rhythm and piano part throughout, and the whole track has a really cinematic feel once the string section comes in too. Not much bad stuff to say here, really.
REMEMBER and YOU MAKE IT EASY are another two highlights in the tracklist, despite the former being the shortest at 2:44. REMEMBER threatens to fall into the same traps as KELLY, but the delivery is so sweet that it just works. The distorted sounding snare keeps a relatively floaty track quite grounded, and the electric guitar part towards the back half is just great.
YOU MAKE IT EASY is probably my favourite track- it's the second Hirsch feature and it's just sublime,. Her vocals are just so warm ,especially against the soft acoustic guitar.. The chorus is so endlessly that even after my first listen i was walking around humming it- especially the carefree nature of the final line "You make it easy, So watch me fall in love".
The song is just impossible not to like.
CE MATIN-LA is just a perfectly chilled out summery piece of music. It has this understated horn section a little way in that sits under these acoustic guitars and shaker sounds that show a real understanding of composition.
NEW STAR IN THE SKY is another great track. It's probably the spaciest track on the record, with these echoing synths against this strummed acoustic guitar, with the vocal hook just tying the whole thing up- with a little help from the bass and string section.
The album finishes in a tight 43:33 with closer LE VOYAGE DE PENELOPE. The track really feels like a closer, with it's sleazy synths and almost arrogant horn section with these claps keeping rhythm, it just the album off really well, It kind of peters out at the end, but I'd rather have that than it drag on and on.
Overall, I really liked this album. If anything, it feels kind of short- and leaves me wanting to further explore this band's discography, which is probably the best outcome from listening to an album. Aside from a few shoddy moments, the record is solid overall, and well worth a listen for fans of electronic or pop music, really really good.
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