This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Progress and artistic growth aren’t always everything they’re cracked up to be. Not if your fan base won’t go along for the ride, that is.
Artsy Parisian electro-pop duo Air learned that the hard way a few years back when their sophomore disc 10,000 Hz Legend — which found them expanding their pallette to include prog, post-rock and psychedelia — crashed and burned faster than Ozzy in an IndyCar. So, not being total airheads, they have wisely retreated to the safe ground of their lauded debut disc Moon Safari. The minimalist beatbox rhythms and swaying grooves, the lush strings and swirly textures, the layers of Vocoder harmony and processed vocals, the pretty melodies and superficial suavity — they all feel designed to win back the ears and hearts of the faithful. And perhaps they will; there’s no denying that cuts like the sadly plodding Venus, the itchy alien ballad Run, the shimmering twanger Surfing On A Rocket, and the Asian Alone in Kyoto (from the Lost In Translation soundtrack) are as compelling and cinematic as anything Air have done. Now they just have to figure out what to do for a followup.
