Moon Safari was met with general acclaim upon its release. Writing in Mixmag, Alexis Petridis called it a "superbly inventive" album that "creates a soundworld in your living room, a world where everything's more shiny, chic and sophisticated than reality". John Mulvey of 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 Weeklys 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, and '60s Swedish industrial documentaries", adding that though the album is "too cheeky" for everyday listening, it is nonetheless romantic. Rolling Stones Rob Sheffield was more reserved in his praise, praising the album's stylistic range and the instrumental songs but calling the group "obsessive". Likewise, Spins Jeff Salamon felt that though the album's pathos is "heartening", the music lacks irony.
Accolades
Moon Safari was voted as the best album of the year in The Face and in Select. It featured in top 10 lists for magazines such as Spin, Melody Maker, NME and Mojo. On aggregation site Acclaimed Music's list of the most recommended albums of all time, Moon Safari ranks 139th, the highest rank achieved by Air and by a French album in general. Rolling Stone magazine later ranked the album at number 93 on their list of the best albums of the 1990s, while the magazine's French edition ranked it at number 65 on their "100 Greatest French Rock Albums" list. In a retrospective review, John Bush of AllMusic commented that Moon Safari "delivered the emotional power of great dance music even while pushing the barriers of what 'electronica' could or should sound like", and that the album "proved they could also write accessible pop songs like 'Sexy Boy' and 'Kelly Watch the Stars'" while also containing successful experiments with less pop-oriented material. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2000 it was voted number 68 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Track listing
10th anniversary special edition (2008)
DVD
"Eating Sleeping Waiting & Playing" by Mike Mills.
Music videos for "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars", "All I Need", and "Le soleil est près de moi".
Graphics and storyboards.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Moon Safari.
