October 28, 1999
Let's pretend that instead of a cold, self-contemplating psychopathic computer, HAL 9000 was a sultry cyborg orgasmatron a la Woody Allen's "Sleeper" with garter belts for power cords and a French Tickler fitted snug over its hard drive. Mount the new HAL on the Love Boat, equip it with warp drive and send it into orbit, and you have the perfect vehicle on which to enjoy your Moon Safari.
This is retro-lounge electronic music to grind to, bursting with analogue synths, deep melodic bass (re: Young Marble Giants) and the occasional breathy vocal or lyric filtered through a vocoder. Stereolab might have made it cool to sing in French, but Air makes a case that it's cool to actually be French, despite appearances to the contrary. And while the French can't rock or rap to save their berets, we all know they rule the earth when it comes to two things: hittin' it, and cheese. No coincidence, then, that Moon Safari has the faint odor of Stilton about its creamy grooves. Sure, it can be a little cheesy (check out the adorably kitschy horns that shuffle "Ce Matin La" off to Fantasy Island), but the irresistible pure pop instrumentals "La Femme D'Argent" and "Talisman" show a restraint unheard of in electronic music as well as a deft use of space (pun intended) and riveting bass lines, and "Kelly Watch The Stars" gives the wah-wah Moog the respect it deserves.
I can't decide if Air has a fantastic sense of irony or if they are absolutely not kidding (although the inclusion of the descriptor "French Band" on the cover points toward the former, their loving devotion to shagworthy melotron tunes indicates the latter), but either way, I'm in. Interstellar perversion hasn't been this much fun since Barbarella.
- Jared O’Connor
retro-electronic bumpin’