Released in 2013, eight years after there last studio album ‘Human after all’, Daft Punk comes back swinging with an impressive effort that sees the group change up the foundations of what they were known for in the dance music scene, with more variety in its sounds and structure.
‘Bring life back to music’ opens the album and it still gives off that old Daft Punk feel with the repetitive chorus throughout, giving us, that dance club feel that Daft Punk is known for. However, part way through the jazzy use of a base comes into play before the sounds of a rooftop party come in playing over a solo. The first song already shows that bit of change that the duo is going through.
It continues even further, with the slow ballad piece ‘Game of Love’ then transitioning onto one of the albums standouts ‘Giorgio by Moroder’ which is this nine-minute song that starts off with famous techno musician, telling us how he essentially developed that style of music. The song builds with use of a shredding electric guitar over this funky synthesizer and all culminates to this explosive ending. This isn’t the only time the album has these long tracks which are on such a grand scale. ‘Touch’ and ‘Contact’ are both just as powerful, though have their own individual qualities that make them standout. ‘Touch’ Starts off as this disturbing pitched down voice then comes into what seems like poetry before transitioning into a choir. ‘Contact’ Gives this feeling of meeting the unknown, with the song starting off with a sample of someone possibly talking about a UFO before going into this thunderous Oregon mixing in with speedy drums before finishing off with the song almost sounding as if it’s going into overdrive like it can’t contain itself. These tracks to me are the standouts of ‘Random Access Memories’.
Which I can see being a problem for old Daft Punk fans. This is less an evolution of there previous efforts and more of Daft Punk going in a different direction. The album still does its fair amount of dance tunes but even those are a bit more lyrically focused. ‘Lose Yourself to Dance’ and ‘Get Lucky’ featuring Pharrell Williams are poppy, having this real youthful feeling in them thanks to Pharrell. I do feel these songs do drag on a bit however, mainly ‘Lose Yourself to Dance’ which is something straight out of the disco scene, but Pharrell’s delivery gets a bit grading after a while.
I have to say that even though it is a different direction that Daft Punk has taken with this album, it’s a welcome one. If you were one looking for more of what made Daft Punk who they are in the first place, you won’t find it here. I’m still open to another album of that style, but if this is direction Daft Punk were to take from now on, with the sounds they’ve explored on this album. I’m all for it.
Random Access Memories is available on CD, Vinyl and for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music
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