10,000 Hz Legend
by Air
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 22
  3. Negative: 2 out of 22
  1. New Musical Express (NME)
    90
    '10,000Hz Legend' is nothing like 'Moon Safari', then again it doesn't really bear a resemblance to much. Instead, it's a glowing, highly ambitious, quasi-concept album that sees Air spiralling off on a wildly idiosyncratic and brilliantly insane tangent all of their own.
  2. Splendid
    80
    It is, like all the best pop music, silly, pointless and thoroughly lacking in high-level intellectual discourse. Thank heaven.
  3. Mixer
    80
    Maybe the stint scoring music for the acclaimed film The Virgin Suicides helped them segue their too-atmospheric-for-the-room lingerings into something more tangible. [May 2001, p.76]
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  5. Mojo
    80
    But once you settle into its desolate vista – and, believe me, it’ll take a few plays – 10,000 Hz Legend becomes just as addictive as its ancestor.
  6. Alternative Press
    80
    The good news is that in their quest not to make fly-away pop, Air have unearthed a bizarre and dark sense of humor that allows them to subvert and celebrate their new gloomier chops. [Jul 2001, p.59]
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  7. CDNow
    80
    Bizarre, surreal, and captivating, this record does nothing expected...
  8. Sonicnet
    80
    Happily deviates from the Moon Safari mold of new wave kitsch and sugary pop, guiding the knob-twisting duo's retro-synth sensibilities into a darker, more brooding realm.
  9. AllMusic
    80
    Fans and involved listeners are definitely rewarded with increased dividends after multiple listens, but even they may wish for an album that harked back to the simpler days of the Premiers Symptomes EP and Moon Safari.
  10. Dot Music
    80
    A tremendously odd hour of music.
  11. Pitchfork
    76
    For better or worse, this is not Moon Safari Redux.
  12. Billboard
    70
    Sadly, Beck's delivery on "The Vagabond" is a tad misguided; his spoken words on "Don't Be Light" are slightly better, but one wishes that he would simply go with the flow and not try so damn hard.
  13. L.A. Weekly
    70
    The resulting mélange doesn’t always work, but the songs on 10,000HZ Legend still succeed often enough to override the record’s occasional shortcomings.
  14. Spin
    70
    10,000 Hz Legend offers heavier arrangements, starker contrasts between soft folky orchestrations and hard prog-rock noise, more guest stars, fewer pretty tunes, and several gigabytes of robo-speak. [Jul 2001, p.126]
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Awards & Rankings

71
#71 Most Discussed Album of 2001

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 29
  3. Negative: 2 out of 29
  1. dvjmarcomatheus
    Jan 19, 2018
    10
    Experiental, eletronic and stunning. This album is the best, and remember a good time together with my girlfriend in a beach. Amazing, piece of art.
  2. asmythd
    Apr 20, 2017
    10
    One of the best Electronic albums of the 2000s, from the jaw dropping beginning of Electronic Performer to the soothing Caramel Prisoner, thisOne of the best Electronic albums of the 2000s, from the jaw dropping beginning of Electronic Performer to the soothing Caramel Prisoner, this album has got it all.… Full Review »
  3. Alex
    Oct 19, 2007
    10
    Every song on this album absolutely sings to me. I first got hooked by "How Does It Make You Feel", but quickly found the rest of the album Every song on this album absolutely sings to me. I first got hooked by "How Does It Make You Feel", but quickly found the rest of the album to be just as redeeming. 10,000 Hz Legend is one of those rare albums that you can just play from start to finish and lose yourself. As much as I love Moon Safari and Pocket Symphony, this is undoubtedly my favourite.… Full Review »
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