Customer Reviews

The Virgin Suicides: Original Motion Picture Score

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is rare at 36 that music has the same mind altering effect on me that it did so often when I was 16. Moon Safari did, and so does this. Other reviewers have already explained that this is nothing like Moon Safari. Not surprising given that it is a movie soundtrack. The tracks are generally short, and they share melodic themes. Anyone who knows 70s rock will immediately feel the Pink Floyd undertones. But where Floyd was frenzied and dramatic, this is smooth and intoxicating.

The album finishes with a track called "Suicide Underground". A deep synthesized male voice narrates the basic plot of the film from the point-of-view of an adult remembering his childhood living in that neighborhood when the terrible event took place. The effect is haunting and profound. The entire album caresses that deep dark place in your concious mind.

You should buy this album if you like Air for their subtle layering of musical textures that results in a sound that is at once original and familiar. If you like Air because it is upbeat and trippy, wait for their next album, which is supposed to be a proper sequel to Moon Safari.

Air's latest offering has a significantly darker texture than either "Moon Safari" or "Premiers Symptomes". This could be due partly to the dark nature of the film this album constitutes the score for. Only one track off this disc features vocals (though several more have voice samples). This is the type of music from Air that I personally prefer. Many of the songs are also quite brief, leaving one wanting more. Thats really the only problem with this disc. The thirteen songs combine to run only about fourty minutes. Some of the songs wind up feeling underdeveloped. That being said the sounds and textures are uniformly brilliant. Comparing the sonic palette (and the whole album for that matter) to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" is justifiable. I don't think this album will bring Air legions of new fans and for first time buyers "Moon Safari" is still a better introduction, but for anyone remotely into the duo this album is an essential buy.

That's a dreadful headline as it says nothing of any significance but...This record is amazing. Don't buy it expecting Moon Safari 2, though. This is a soundtrack and therefore has a different feel than a standard album. However, you will not be disappointed. If Radiohead and Portishead gave birth, this would be their child.

Air's ambient, dreamy and incredibly mood-setting score for the film The Virgin Suicides opens with the soulful "Playground Love," what I still believe to be one of the best pop songs of the last five years. It combines the dark ambience of the later songs with a pop sensibility and the result is a song that, if it was played on the radio, would be one of the greatest pop songs of recent memory. It's more or less smooth jazz with string synths to compliment it. The gentle loungy xylophone and saxophone make this the best chill-out song with a pop structure. Immediately, Air seems to be showing a Pink Floyd influence, one that reoccurs throughout the whole score.

The rest of the album keeps a similar dark theme, with Air, this time, switching off from their beloved synthesizers to more traditional instruments at times. Many songs are built over loops of synth sounds, with the song building slowly, and changing, until it ends up back where it started. Such is the case with "Clouds Up," "Cemetary Party" and "Dark Messages." "Cemetary Party" consists of a plodding footstep sounding synth with a organ, and a dreamily played guitar. This song also shows off the capabilities specific synthesizer, i forget the name of it, but Kraftwerk used one of the first versions of it on Radioactivity. It imitates the sound of a choir singing, and so it gives this incredible half-real half-surreal sound of what could be human voices, but you're not sure. Because I immediately tie in the sound with its use on Radioactivity, it always sends a chilling sensation through my body. It's somewhat ominous.

As i said, the rest of the album pretty much sustains a mood that's somewhere between mystery and suspense, between clean and sleazy. The Pink Floyd influence is so big that "Highschool Lover" sounds like it was taken right out of "The Great Gig In The Sky." The results of this record couldn't be predicted from Air's somewhat friendlier Moon Safari. They've matured in a good way. This is a film score that should be a trend-setter. Personally, i haven't heard another score that sounds like this, both electronic and traditional and just so.. so... moody! It adds up to be one of the best and most cohesive film scores i've ever heard.

As a 17 yr old myself, my parents are alarmed at the fact that I have become so obsessed with everything to do with the "Virgin Suicides" recently. First, I read the book (utterly compelling and beautifully written), then saw the film (a great-though slightly short-portrayal of the book) and finally have aquired the soundtrack. I'm not normally into much chill-out type music, but it is so haunting and compelling that you cannot help but listen to it. The best track in my opinion, track 8 (Highschool Love) is really key to the whole film, but all the tracks seem to blend seemlessly into each other. The only faults I have are that the tracks do not last long enough (I personally could have enjoyed another minute or so of track 8 for a start), and that if a listener had not seen the film, or read the book, then songs like track 13 (which contains excerpts from the film) may not make sense. But I suggest you just overlook this, sit back and let the soaring and haunting melodies glide over you.

This is definitely not 'Moon Safari'. However, it perfectly illustrates the fact that 'Moon Safari' in its best moments is not the only ground that AIR can work on and succeed. It's a perfect soundtrack - each time it is being listened to, a new movie is created, as intense, coherent and splendid as this music actually is. BUY this CD if you're willing to escape from the stupidity, banality and commerciality of contemporary pop music. In addition, given the conspicuous talent of the French duo, one can't feel that their muisc is an entire fabrication. DON'T BUY this CD, if you're looking for catchy tunes that you'll be humming during the day. It's a different story. Standout trax: Playground Love, Highschool Lover, Empty House, Dead Bodies.

This soundtrack is very good. The album concentrates on 4 or 5 themes, and they are repeated in various ways. Many of the tracks are a bit short, but I do not find this a problem. The fact is: when you listen to the music on this album and close your eyes you will feel the psychedelic effect. It reminds me of music from Pink Floyd (like other reviewers have pointed out), but it also resembles cd's like Bowies 'Heroes' (the instrumental parts) and 'Low'. But Air has it's own distinctive character as well, as we all know by now. Don't take the one-star reviews seriously: if you don't like this kind of (sombre) music of course you will have to look elsewhere. But this album is another example of Air's great feeling for mood and sound.

This CD is simply amazing, a breakthrough. It's hard to find a CD that really creates a mood. The music is final, despondent, accepting. It transports you. What's best is track #6, suicide underground. It's a nutshell plotline of the movie in voiceover, with electronica trembling beneath. Unusual, but it works.

And, surprisingly, it makes for fantastic study music. Who knew?

Okay, first one must realize the divergent nature of this album...no, it's not 'moon safari' so don't expect it. However, it is still distinctly AIR. As the title might express, this is a much moodier album and subsequently some people don't like it. However, if you're a fan of the groove oriented themes of such songs as: la femme d'argent, talisman, and le voyage de penelope, (of moon safari) then you will not be dissapointed with the excellence that is 'the virgin suicides.' In short, groove oriented, darker songs, with less structure and definition. As a score should, the songs form a continious theme that takes it to sundry musical realms. Again, if you're a fan of the musicianship employed by AIR in their previous efforts, then this album will be nothing save pure satisfaction. One of my 'new' favorite bands, and definitely a band claiming its position at the forefront of the french dj/club/trip hop scene. Reasons not to buy: If you prefer lighter AIR songs such as: sexy boy, remember, and ce martin la, then you will most probably be dissapointed by this album. Nevertheless, if you like the band, then this album is more than worth it.

As any good soundtrack should be, Air's score to the Virgin Suicides plays a main role in the film, setting the mood and atmosphere. But, unlike most soundtracks, it has a life all of its own that possess tremendous musical power and beauty. Each track is an incredible showcase of how music can really take the listener into another realm. My only complaint would be that there should be more music!