Customer Reviews

10,000 Hz Legend

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Well this is interesting. They said it themselves: it's not Moon Safari. If you want music references then it leans a lot more towards The Virgin Suicides, but it's not that either. Basically we're looking at a more "up and at `em" album here. It's full of tight drums and good rhythms, with the usual complement of computer voices, vocoders, and this time some really nice vocals too. The usual groove comes back in now and again, but if you ever saw Air live you should recognise some of their on-stage music in this release.

There are some downsides to this record, and I couldn't help but pull out the excellent Moog Cookbook, Logan's Sanctuary, some Beck, and then start comparing names in the credits. I don't know how much of Manning, Kehew, Reitzel and Meldal-Johnsen's blood is in these tracks, but I'd sure like to find out.

Summary: You might as well buy it. Chances are you're over twenty-two and can afford it anyway. But if you don't own any other Air albums, then buy Moon Safari first. everything else will make more sense after that...........and make sure you own Midnight Vultures by Beck, just 'cause it's great.

damn ... this album is fantastic - avant-garde weird and classically beautiful at the same time - they obviously don't care about maintaining the MOR audience they earned with the hit "all i need"; and "radio #1", the most commercial song on this album (i guess), ain't gonna set any radio playlists on fire (at least not in the u.s.), but what a rewarding piece o' work ... id've loved to see beth hirsch guest on a track or two like she did on 'moon safari', but beck does a great job on "the vagabond" and "don't be light", 2 of my personal faves ... "electronic performers" and "how does it make you feel?" are psychedelic masterpieces, and "radian" is as gorgeous as anything bach or beethoven ever did ... great art is made at the extremes, and this record IS extreme : fans of 'moon safari' may be put off on 1st listen - but give this a chance - it's truly wonderful and, coupled with great recent music from mirwais, phoenix, and daft punk, it can only make ya wonder what they're puttin in the water over there in france...

Ok I Rarely, RARELY buy a cd that I preview at a listening station. Nowadays its harder for my ear to accept the same old true and tired formula. I decided to listen to AIR on a lark and thought to myself "I will probably be listening to this for about 15 seconds." When I hit play I was transported to a new world of sound that my ear hasnt been to. Needless to say my curiosity was on red alert and I started listening to every song soaking in as much of this neo sonic country as I could. I must have looked funny staring dumbfounded at the CD case. The album I was gonna buy before I found this was slipping further and further away from my fingers until it rested rejected out of reach. After my journey I went to the counter to buy 10,000 Hz Legend from the mortals. I got to my car and popped in the CD and immediately I was transported to Airs universe. The super duo have traits that remind me of pink floyd and kraftwerk. They have pink floyds pioneering spirit and Kraftwerks brain for bizzare arrangements. However the sounds on this album is uniquely their own. The record in my opinion is brilliant. Its unlike anything I have ever heard, it seems to have a life of its own. I havent been this awestruck since rediscovering Radiohead via Ok Computer. The music is very profound and its not begging to be mainstream or asking for your acceptance, it doesn't care its on a whole other level. Air should be proud of themselves they have created a very original album that will stand the test of time. The true mark of a classic. Air have themselves a genuine child from this album, I hope they raise it with a lot of love.

If you are expecting "Safari Moon Pt. 2", you will be dissapointed. Air took a more adventuourous, darker, ambient, serious, experimental, and ultimtately brilliant journey into electronic music. The songs here range from sounding like Aphex Twin (without the weird off-putting effects or heavy drums) to Thievery Corp. Air still has a beautiful sense of melody and as usual the tunes themselves are beautifully and creatively put together (even a throwaway Air song is a well-crafted one). Overall, all us true hardcore Air fans love this album. Those who only loved MS may not like it, but that's their loss I say,

I Don't really get why this album only receives 3.5 stars after 120+ reviews. Perhaps the public thought it would be another album of potential car ads and mellow love songs. Well, Moby's cornered that market, and Air are a bit too cool'n'creative to stand still, even if that's what the punters want. Great though Moon Safari was, what's the point making it again?
Making their own equivalent of Kid A, with added songs, is much more fun. Track for track, Legend is just as melodious as Safari, just harder hitting and punchier. The Electronic pulse of opener Electronic Performers gives way to lush orchestration, Radian is possibly their most beautiful electro-acoustic instrumental yet and Lucky & Unhappy and People in the City drive their way into your subconscious with soulful insistence. So what's the problem?
Admittedly, electronics are very high in the mix, particularly on vocals, but they still are warm and even sexy, especially on the sumptuous How Does It Make You Feel? and Sex Born Poison, sounding as if it's being sung by some crazy-yet-seductive oriental alien queen.
It's always a compliment to an album if you have trouble describing it, largely because the music has few reference points and is therefore largely original. I guess that's the
greatest thing you could say about 10,000 Hz Legend. And 3.5 stars really doesn't do it justice.

I bought this album the same day as I bought Radiohead "amnesiac". Originally I was reluctant to buy this album due to poor reiews in Rolling Stone, but I went ahead and splurged anyway. When I listened to the albums I was surprised to let down by radiohead and so uplifted by Air. In a way 10,000 Hz is Air's "Kid A", a very experimental fare that adds a whole new demension to the band.
It is "10,000 Hz" that solidifies Air as one of my favorite bands ever. Furthermore, it is this album not "Moon safari" that lets the listener see the deeper personal side of Air. With songs of robo-sex, love, America, and radios, "10,000 Hz" is a darkly ironic comic album that offers the listener a ride down the autobahn of love. It's like the purverse cousin of Daft Punk's excellent "Discovery" which has also been criticized but both albums need to be listened to with a sense of humor in order to have a rewarding listen. "moon safari" was pure nostalgia "10,000" is a true work of art.

Well, here's something special going on. 'Moon Safari' was like lying on the grass while sipping a fresh juice, listening to the rollig waves, somewhere in Cannes or Nice. This is diving into your brain and going all the way back to your good old records from the 70's and 80's, while hanging around your balcony in a sleazy Berlin building with fading colours and rusty ironwork. Air has made tunes that need time to listen to, it's not easy this time but worth the effort! While 'Radian' is about floating above the meadows, 'Don't be light' rolls into a secret drive across industrial debris. In a strange way it's sophisticated and cheap. Well enough said, put on your headphones and dive deep into unfamiliar terrain!

When I first bought this album and listened through a lukewarm review seemed likely. After digesting the significant stylistic departure they took on this release I think, though incomparable to Moon Safari, its just as strong a release overall. There are several main differences between this and Air's previous work. First, the songs are here are consistenly lengthy and meditative with multiple passages. Second, Air seems to have embraced the intricate drum programming techniques of modern electronic listening music (Autechre, Aphex Twin) wholeheartedly. Though the processed vocals are still here, they are earthier and darker than before. The melodies bear a strong resemblance to the ones heard on the Virgin Suicides soundtrack but are more fleshed out. Overall, 10,000 hz Legend is a pretty dark and melancholy sounding release.

The jump from Moon Safari to 10,000 hz Legend actually reminds me of the differrence between Steely Dan's first two albums, "Can't Buy A Thrill" and "Countdown To Ecstasy." While Moon Safari might me a more impressive effort, 10,000 hz Legend certainly shows significant progress and is deeper, more mature effort. Be patient with this release, there's a lot to digest. After awhile the album really comes together as something special.

AIR is 1/2 of a good band. The other (non-existent) half would be a band that can write songs and not rely on expensive gimmicks to fill an entire album. AIR, like so many of today's best bands, is like the Beatles post-Revolver without the songs: all you're left with is "Revolution # 9" and the sound effects track from "Tomorrow Never Knows". Another analogy would be Pink Floyd, if all they ever did was that proto-techno song on "Dark Side of the Moon", the samples of people laughing in "Time" and the intro to "Money"... Cool things, one and all, but really just a fraction of what I look for in a "band".

This album is a perfect example of what I'm talking about:

It's like the frosting, but not the cake.

It's like the sizzle, but not the steak (thank you, Tom Waits!)...

I don't know why, but it seems as though no one has really done much better at combining electronics with solid songwriting than the early pioneers like Pink FLoyd, The Beatles, The WHo, or, well, Jimi Hendrix, for that matter! I will make exceptions for Beck, Super Furry Animals, Ween, and the Flaming Lips, though.

Basically, the songs on 10,000 Hz never seem to go anywhere, though not for lack of trying. You can almost hear where the ideas end and the over-reliance on electro-studio trickery begins: it's usually about a minute into the track! AIR would be well advised to stick to doing movie soundtracks and the occasional laser light show.

This is undoubtedly Air's best album to date, veering away from the disposable pop of `Moon Safari' and back toward the interesting arrangements and textures of their debut `Premieres Symptomes'. Following their soundtrack to the film `The Virgin Suicides', which was good but consisted largely of repeated variations of the same few musical themes, this is a more rounded and satisfying effort.

A series of lush sonic landscapes with some great vocal harmonies, it mixes pop, electronica and progressive influences to wonderful effect. Pink Floyd is an obvious influence, particularly the clean, spacious production and harmonies of Floyd's `Dark Side of the Moon' period.

The best track is `Radian', a beautiful instrumental piece with an ominous, extended intro and flutes, reminiscent of the work of Henry Mancini and Lalo Schifrin. `Sex Born Poison', `Don't be Light' and closing track `Caramel Prisoner' have an epic sweep. `How Does It Make You Feel?', which showcases the Floyd-type harmonies and is a sequel of sorts to `Playground Love' from the `Virgin Suicides' soundtrack, is a lovely song.

It's not a perfect album. Tracks like `Lucky and Unhappy' and `People in the City' are a bit repetitive. And `Vagabond', which has Beck guesting on vocals, doesn't do it for me. But overall, this is a fine album.