Moon Safari
| Moon Safari | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Air | ||||
| Released | 16 January 1998 | |||
| Recorded | April – June 1997 | |||
| Studio | Around the Golf and Studio Gang in Paris; strings recorded at Abbey Road in London; mixed at Studio Plus XXX in Paris; mastered at the Exchange in Camden |
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| Genre | Downtempo | |||
| Length | 43:35 | |||
| Label | Virgin, Caroline, Parlophone, Astralwerks | |||
| Producer | Air | |||
| Air chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| The Guardian |  |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.9/10 |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | 7/10 |
| The Village Voice | A− |
Moon Safari is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 16 January 1998. On 14 April 2008, Virgin Records re-released Moon Safari to mark the album's tenth anniversary. The limited edition album came with a bound book, a DVD documentary about the duo, and an extra CD with live performances and remixes.
Moon Safari was acclaimed by critics and remains Air's most renowned release. Moon Safari is credited with setting the stage for the budding downtempo music style and, according to Nielsen SoundScan, had sold 364,000 copies by 2009.
Moon Safari was met with general acclaim upon its release. John Mulvey, writing for NME, praised Air's "sensitive but tenacious grasp of melody, a laid-back disposition and a reckless way with a Vocoder that makes them unafraid of sounding like a digital ELO," also noting similarities to Garbage on "Sexy Boy" and Beth Orton on "All I Need".Entertainment Weekly's Ethan Smith felt that though the album occasionally bears excessive resemblance to Everything but the Girl, "Air leaven it all with a welcome dash of Gallic irony."Pitchfork writer Brent DiCrescenzo remarked that the music would befit "minimalist architecture design, shagging up against a tree in a field of sunflowers, waiting in line for 'Space Mountain,' drinking gin upstairs in a 747 (circa 1974), and '60s Swedish industrial documentaries," adding that though the album is "too cheeky" for everyday listening, it is nonetheless romantic.
Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield was more reserved in his praise, praising the album's stylistic range and the instrumental songs but calling the group "obsessive." (Retrospectively in its album guide, Rolling Stone awarded the album 4.5 stars.) Likewise, Spin's Jeff Salamon felt that though the album's pathos is "heartening", the music lacks irony.
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