Daft Punk - Random Access Memories Review
http://youtu.be/5NV6Rdv1a3I Then it arrives; that funky guitar, those piano chords and that rhythm section its Get Lucky. I dont need to tell you about this track, youve probably already overplayed it, but damn, it is a great song. Sure, its not a Discovery-era single but its so infectious and joyous its impossible not to love. Following on from that theres Beyond which starts with around 40 seconds bombastic orchestral strings and it seems like were going symphonic, or musical again, before it stops and is immediately replaced by a slow and funky track that takes back into mournful robo-disco. Motherboard is a kind of everything and more instrumental that shows creating a filmscore for Tron: Legacy has had a lasting effect on the duo; strings, synths, plucked guitar, flutes, sequenced loops, steady drums and more. Then the track does a switch around and things start to get far more menacing before switching around again and drums kick in for a bit that kind of brings to mind The Chemical Brothers and Massive Attack. Soon, the funk is back again, even if it is in a minor key, with Todd Edwards (who featured on Face To Face from Discovery) on Fragments of Time. Its not minor for long though as the chorus is possibly the most unapologetically happy moment on the album sounding almost like a TV theme tune from the 70s or 80s. Album highlight time again with Doin It Right featuring Panda Bear off of Animal Collective and solo-output fame. This really is a collaborative track and comes across as perhaps the most Daft Punk-y song on the album, whilst also not. Panda Bears influence is clear in not just his characteristically distinctive and harmonic vocals but the production of the track. Of course the French duo are taking the lead, but theres a quality to the drum sound and the sparseness of the arrangement that has Panda Bear written all over it. Closing track Contact is as epic a closer as you couldve hoped for, doing a considerably better job than Human After Alls Emotion did. It starts with a recording of an astronaut documenting his view from space; including an unidentified object and Earth. Once that plays through we are greeted with organs that could have been lifted from 2001: A Space Odysseys soundtrack along those big Chemical Brothers style drums, an intensifying synth loop, roaring distorted fuzz that sounds like tearing through a planets atmosphere before it actually disappears through a wormhole. I know this was a long review, and Im sorry, but there really is a lot to convey with this album. It was not a simple, woo, Daft Punk are back and its awesome sort of review. This will likely leave a lot of people unimpressed or confused on first listen, but it is definitely a grower of an album which for a number of reasons is worth sticking it out for. Like I said, its not the best album ever, or the album of the year, or Daft Punks best album (thatd be Homework, Discovery or one of the Alive albums depending on who you talk to). What it is though is a strikingly ambitious and experimental album from partnership that dont need to keep pushing themselves, but they want to. The album has its flaws; a couple of tracks go on longer than they need to; perhaps too many songs that follow the pattern down-tempo, robot vocals, sad, samey; some genuinely jarring, confusing moments. However, the scope of what theyre trying to do on a number of tracks is astounding and there are genuine moments of genius. Dont go into this high on hype or expecting just a Daft Punk album (if there is such a thing), I wont chatting hyperbole when I said that this was a prog-disco album. I told you to trust me. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.