|
Fans of the lightweight pop and soothing mood music of Air's 1998 breakthrough, Moon Safari, will be surprised -- and perhaps shocked -- by the Parisian pair's follow-up, 10,000 Hz Legend. While the duo retains the instrumentation that made Moon Safari such a standout -- wiggly analog keyboards, pastoral acoustic guitars, throbbing drum machines -- they've traded in their debut's sunny outlook for a dark and angst-filled vision that suggests a postmodern, electronica take on Pink Floyd -- call it "Dark Side of the Moon Safari." Beginning with the deadpan robotic vocals of the opener, "Electronic Performers," Air take the listener on a wild and weird ride, stopping off at Middle Eastern flute jams "Radian", Moody Blues-like orchestral pomp "Sex Born Poison", and new wave pop "Radio #1". Enhancing the journey are guest vocals from Beck -- on the harmonica-laced, country-style highway romp "The Vagabond" and the haunting Krautrock throb of "Don't Be Light" -- and from the gals of Buffalo Daughter, whose high, restrained singing on "Sex Born Poison" heightens the tension. The result merges the aesthetics of soundtrack composer Lalo Schifrin, techno pioneers Kraftwerk, and French pop icon Serge Gainsbourg. Stringing all these elements together is an indelible sense of loneliness, paranoia, and dread, heightened by the wistful lyrics, detached cyborg vocals, and ominous string swells. It's not quite Radiohead's OK Computer, but it's not too far off.
Condition:NEW. Drilled case
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 Electronic Performers
2 How Does It Make You Feel
3 Radio #1
4 The Vagabond
5 Radian
6 Lucky & Unhappy
7 Sex Born Poison
8 People in the City
9 Wonder Milky Bitch
10 Don't Be Light
11 Caramel Prisoner
|