French artist AstroVoyager captivates across Mission SuperHabitable, an ambitious electro-symphonic concept album blending synthesizers with dynamic additions from talented collaborators, including instrumentation from the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and grippingly operatic vocals from Alexandre Chassagnac (The Voice). Crafted across four years of studio work and nearly 30 musicians, the record maps an interplanetary voyage, also expanding into a massive multimedia universe featuring an anime, a virtual game, and a live drone light show.
“Escape from Earth” opens the album with a cinematic-like intrigue, swelling into spacey synth clanging and rumbling rhythmic momentum from an initial spaciousness. It’s easy to envision the vast stillness of space as the track gets underway, only to be met by sights like spaceships and shooting stars as the sound escalates. “Run Away” ensues with vibrant allure, unveiling the project’s ability to infuse vocal talents, as the “run away, never needed anyone” proclamation stirs into steady drums and playful synth bounces. It’s an excellent production exemplary of AstroVoyager’s talents — immersive in its array of heartfelt strings, illuminated synths, distorted guitars, and anthemic vocal vigor.
Another standout track, “In a Flash” showcases a dreamier initial synth entrancement. Gentle synth pads and bass-y clanging lead into an arpeggiated infectiousness, fondly reminiscent of Erasure in its moody electro-pop introduction. High-flying strings inject seamlessly thereafter, as does a stunning vocal entry from pop-opera singer Alexandre Chassagnac, whose operatic range creates a fantastic, climactic allure into a re-emergence of the string/synth synergy. “Don’t Lose the Sky Connection” stirs with a similarly theatrical vocal emotion, with multiple layers of vocals lamenting over losing connection alongside a stylish, catchy blend of electric guitars and dynamic synths, ranging from caressing synth pads to twinkling energy; the result resembles a lovable ’80s throwback, aesthetically, while being replay-inducing in its swells between piano-touched balladry and impassioned movement.
Elsewhere, “The Future was Yesterday” struts an especially enjoyable emphasis on strings. Lush, lounge-set keys and understated synths play important but more subtle roles, while various layers of strings flourish with majestic, magnetic qualities. The arrival of triumphant guitar twangs adds to the warming, approachable mix as well. The album is an utter delight in its phenomenally eclectic range, from serene charmers like this, to the fervent “Memento Memori,” where pounding percussion and ominous strings meld with darkly operatic vocal tones, for an unsettling but beautiful feeling.
Additional highlights include “Keep Going,” dazzling in its shifts between solemn strings and house-ready guitar infusions, and the subsequent “Breathe In,” starkly different in its elegant orchestration and rhythmic pitter-pattering. An awakening, operatic vocal entry makes for an especially riveting send-off. Album finale “Before Flying back to Earth” is another gem, fusing starry-eyed synth work with whirring string-laden luminousness. A powerful assembly of roaring guitars and pulsing percussion add before the one-minute mark, with the instrumentation converging toward a soaring, expressive conclusion. Mission SuperHabitable is a fantastic success of an album from AstroVoyager, succeeding with both transportive soundscapes and inventively melodic expanses.
