The Virgin Suicides [Original Soundtrack]

( 4 )

Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Martin Johnson
It has become customary for soundtracks to function merely as marketing tie-ins to a film, but Air's music for Sofia Coppola's fine directorial debut, "The Virgin Suicides," brings listeners toward the movie rather than taking them away from it. The film, set in mid-'70s suburbia, could easily have relied on a soundtrack of retro-fitted, leisure-suited cheesiness without making any kind of modern musical statement. But Air's Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoit Dunckel are able to capture the oppressive artificiality of the setting while also sounding incredibly au courant. As on their debut, MOON SAFARI, the duo build their sounds on Moog and Fender Rhodes keyboards, but ...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Martin Johnson
It has become customary for soundtracks to function merely as marketing tie-ins to a film, but Air's music for Sofia Coppola's fine directorial debut, "The Virgin Suicides," brings listeners toward the movie rather than taking them away from it. The film, set in mid-'70s suburbia, could easily have relied on a soundtrack of retro-fitted, leisure-suited cheesiness without making any kind of modern musical statement. But Air's Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoit Dunckel are able to capture the oppressive artificiality of the setting while also sounding incredibly au courant. As on their debut, MOON SAFARI, the duo build their sounds on Moog and Fender Rhodes keyboards, but the music is leaner and more evocative. Unlike Yes, ELP, or other monsters of prog rock, their music has the light touch of Brian Eno's '70s work, especially his collaborations with David Bowie. "Playground Love" with vocals by Gordon Tracks captures the wistful tone of the movie's narration. Playful harp runs lend a campy atmosphere to "Dirty Trip," which echoes the movie's use of Heart's "Magic Man" available on a soon-to-be-released, non-Air-related soundtrack in an introductory scene. Godin says that the duo composed the music while watching the film, and it shows in their close adherence to the movie's narrative. There is even a hypnotic voice-over summarizing the film's events at the end. Although it is only 40 minutes long, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is more than just a fine trailer for the movie -- it serves as a preview of what new directions may be found on Air's proper sophomore recording.
All Music Guide - John Bush
Two years after the arrival of their debut album, the French twosome Air returned, not with a proper sophomore LP, but with The Virgin Suicides, a full soundtrack to the directing debut of Sophia Coppola. Only one track, "Playground Love," has vocals, and that comes from an outsider Gordon Tracks who sounds more like the Auteurs' Luke Haines than Beth Hirsch, the only real vocalist employed previously. The trademarked Air sound is for the most part unchanged; as on Moon Safari, producers Godin and Dunckel rely on contemplative electronic mood-music in a minor key, heavy on the analog synth and organ yet with plenty of traditional textures guitar, brass, strings, live-sounding drums in keeping with lounge music and space-pop from the 1960s and '70s. And though all the music here is as meticulously detailed as the tracks on Moon Safari, the soundtrack cultivates an atmosphere more in league with traditional scoring -- instead of focusing on pop songs in an electronic context, Air constructed these tracks as mere soundbytes, simple themes with little embellishment on the basic ideas. Of course, that's perfectly in keeping with the secondary role soundtracks should play to truly serve the movies for which they're composed. Listeners eager for a second dose of the exquisite electronic pop found on Moon Safari will be pleased with much of The Virgin Suicides, but will probably have to wait until Air's proper follow-up to find more evidence of their greatness.
Rolling Stone - James Hunter
The album is exceedingly strange yet scrupulously crafted and intelligent.

The album is exceedingly strange yet scrupulously crafted and intelligent.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 2/29/2000
  • Label: Astralwerks
  • UPC: 724384884826
  • Catalog Number: 48848
  • Sales rank: 66,034

Album Credits

Performance Credits
Air Primary Artist, Track Performer
Brian Reitzell Snare Drums
Technical Credits
Air Producer, Engineer
Jean-Benoît Dunckel Composer, Producer
Nicolas Godin Composer, Producer, Contributor
Gordon Tracks Composer
Pascal Garnon Engineer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 4 )
Rating Distribution

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(4)

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Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    AIR is awesome!

    AIR is so good, its unique, creepy, and yet has a vibe of excellence in the techno-retro sound of music. the movie, the virgin suicides has wonderful music, but once you listen to this music after the movie, you can relate to what happened at that moment. I give it 5 stars! i love it!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    A necessity, like air

    The sensual sounds of Air combine with the haunting tone of a cemetery daydream. The melodies seem to lull you off to dream world, but soothing vocals make you want to stargaze. Enjoy, and feel free to e-mail me with comments! I love talking to fellow Air fans!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Air hits it big on the big screen

    Very hauntingly dark and dreamy. This film score sets a perfect soundscape for the movie.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 16, 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 4 Customer Reviews