Gotta say, Im really enjoying AIR's new one, which is a score for a the 1912 sci fi film of the same name. Its mostly instrumental, with AIR members only singing on one of the tracks, and the girl from Beach House singing on another one. Theres more intensity to this album than say Pocket Symphony (which I loved too BTW), with some rising keyboards and cool basslines on a couple tracks. And AIR has the right kind of spacey vibe that fits in with a sci fi film score.
Have you guys heard it? what do you think?





Heres the AMG review:

Review

by Heather Phares

It's a neat trick that Air began their albums with a trip to the moon via Moon Safari and returned to it with Le Voyage Dans La Lune, the expanded version of the duo's score to Georges Méliès' 1912 sci-fi classic. It's a perfect project for Air; Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin's sound has always had a spacey quality, and film music has been a vital component of their work. Le Voyage Dans La Lune presents an interesting challenge for Air in that most of their other scores and soundtracks have been for films with more modern settings (even the '70s kitsch they subverted and romanticized in their Virgin Suicides soundtrack). While Dunckel and Godin don't attempt to make this music sound like it was recorded on wax cylinder, many of the cues have a stateliness that suggest a much earlier time. Similarly, Air nod to the traditions of sci-fi scores while making them their own: "Who Am I Now?" borrows the discordant strings often used to convey space madness, and the imposing timpani that runs through the entire album evokes Strauss' "Thus Sprach Zarathustra," which was further immortalized by 2001: A Space Odyssey. And while Le Voyage Dans La Lune is a silent film, allowing the duo to be a bit showier than they could be on a score for a talkie, Air's choices feel more thoughtful and organic to the movie than, say, Giorgio Moroder's '80s score for another silent science fiction classic, Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Godin and Dunckel make sure their voyage to the moon evokes both meanings of the word "trip": there's a wonderful sense of movement throughout the score, of rockets thrusting and of the explorers bouncing, tumbling, and stumbling on the moon; meanwhile, the fizzy, percolating "Cosmic Trip," which mentions "enormous mushrooms," implies the more psychedelic undertones of this Art Nouveau fantasy. As expected of Air, there's elegance to the whimsy, particularly on the lovely "Moon Fever" and "Seven Stars," where Beach House's Victoria Legrand's voice sounds as deep and serene as an endless night sky. However, Le Voyage Dans La Lune also has a surprisingly aggressive side, with bombastic prog rock outbursts like "Parade" and "Sonic Armada," which mixes a martial beat with a groovy, insistent keyboard line and a bassline as bouncy as marching on the moon to become one of Air's most memorable instrumentals in some time. These tracks hark back to the duo's own 10,000 Hz Legend and reflect not only the conquering bent of the lunar explorers, but how this turn-of-the-century trippiness ultimately inspired many of the progressive rock bands of the '60s and '70s. That Air can pack so much history into this music without its feeling contrived is impressive, but it's just another facet of the care that went into the entire Le Voyage Dans La Lune project. This is a treat not just for Air fans, but aficionados of film music and science fiction, too.

Yeah, I'm enjoying it as well. I'm fascinated that its a soundtrack to Georges Méliès classic, which is packaged with the album on some editions.

I was kinda hoping with the Oscar hubbub over Hugo, that this would get a little more press. I think it stands alone quite well. Everyone wants Moon Safari II, and while that's probably a top 5 OAT for me, I recognize these guys are just superb musicians and everything they've put out has been quality.

I like this more than I thought I would. Their last one was pretty much of a turn off for me and the one before a step down from their past stuff for me so I was pretty much writing this one off, especially when I heard it was a soundtrack and not a proper album. I can't say I think this puts them completely back to pre downward slide territory, but it is a good step in the right direction and worth listening to. I kind of think the soundtrack thing was a good idea to let off a bit of pressure. This one's not going to fight for the spot as my favorite Air album or anything, but it's better than the last couple things they've put out and I'm back to being curious about these guys again.

I think when people think of soundtracks there is a certain sense of constrictive, or very tight parameters involved with the creative process. This doesn't feel that way. If you were to place it completely separately, it could very easily stand on its own musical merit.

I actually thought it was somehow involved with "Hugo" at first. Guess not.

I'd be interested in hearing it.

it's good. the dvd doesn't play on my fucking player tho.

Just watched the color version on Youtube. Very cool.