Album Review - "Random Access Memories" by Daft Punk

Daft Punk is one of those prolific groups that, even if you don't like them, you can respect their longevity and how well they've maintained their critical and commercial reception. Across the first three albums and eight years of their career, they managed to amass enough fans who enjoy them for their music, not their pop culture relevancy, to make their return to a full-fledged studio album this much of a hype machine. I ran into people of all different musical tastes and interests who wanted nothing else but to talk to me about "Get Lucky" after the single was released. Not many groups can do that: have such a wide cross-appeal and high standing in so many music lovers' minds. This is why Daft Punk is special.

And this is why "Random Access Memories" is all kinds of special. Not only is a Daft Punk album the one that's taking the music community by storm right now, but a disco-flavored, smooth-jams album. For Daft Punk to consciously evolve their style, and for the music community to eat it up wholeheartedly, is a unique accomplishment that only comes around once in an era. This album is a crowd-pleaser in every sense, but it has plenty of substance to be more than just another good pop album.

"Give Life Back to Music" is, in theory, a perfect album starter in that it has a hell of an opening with great synth sweeps before settling into the smooth, laid-back disco that makes up most of the album. It's a statement of sound, but also one for the band. After eight years of non-studio albums, it's their pitch to you to let their music back into your life. And it sounds exceedingly convincing. A couple of minutes into the album and I'm sold already.

"The Game of Love" sustains this style well, but it makes the minor mistake of going into full-on "Something About Us"-mode on the second song on the album. I've got nothing against the song, but feel that it's awkwardly placed in the sequencing of the album.

But, just as "The Game of Love" starts to plant some very small doubts in my mind, "Giorgio by Moroder" comes along to bring me right back around. It starts out slowly, building up with a spoken autobiography (taken from actual interviews) with iconic producer Giorgio Moroder, before settling into a heavily synthesized section that wouldn't be out of place on older Daft Punk albums, or even the more techno-based tracks from their Tron: Legacy soundtrack. It consistently adds new additions to keep things interesting, eventually bringing Moroder back for more words of wisdom as well as an orchestra, then once again returning to the key rhythm with every previous instrument and drums building on top of it. As the album's longest track at just over 9 minutes, it astounds me that this song can take a fairly basic rhythm and just do new, interesting things with it, never once becoming dull or tedious. It ends brilliantly, with the fuzzy noise that takes over the song's second half dropping into the click that Moroder talks about in the beginning. All in all, this song, in its constant evolutions, serves as a great tribute to a musical icon.

"Within" takes a different strategy with a sparse piano melody leading into a soft, relaxing meditation on existential thoughts. Once again, though minimalist, the track never becomes grating or tired, giving a nice little interlude after the intensity of "Giorgio by Moroder." "Instant Crush" works amazingly with guest vocalist Julian Casablancas of The Strokes by taking his instantly recognizable voice and transforming it into what could naturally be a smoother Daft Punk vocal. He seems incredibly confident in this and right at home at this song, which itself sounds like a slower track from the Strokes with synth thrown in.

But, if we're talking about guests who ooze confidence on this album, we have to discuss Pharrell Williams. He slides gracefully in on "Lose Yourself to Dance," making his best plea for why you should be out on the dance floor with him while sounding oh-so smooth and, goddamn if it doesn't work like a charm. The Daft Punk vocals here are just phenomenal, stacking on top of each other repetitions of "come on" in a scale, a rhythmic recitation of "everybody's dancing on the floor, getting ready for one more," and a falsetto of "everybody on the floor." It all comes together with expert craftsmanship and, outside of "Get Lucky," could be the runaway dance hit of the album.

Speaking of "Get Lucky," the other Pharrell-centric song is the song on the album that was destined to become a hit. It's by far the catchiest with smooth beats and a danceable rhythm, has a typical Daft Punk breakdown to mix things up, and works perfectly as a return single with the opening line referencing the "legend of the phoenix." There's nothing amazing about the vocals or instrumentation, but it works well as a fun, energetic single and sells the album better than any other song.

The song in between these two Pharrell guest spots, "Touch," starts out promisingly with a Paul Williams vocal inspired straight from of his role in "Phantom of the Paradise" before launching into a falsetto from him, but comes up a bit flat. No instrumentation aside from the highlighted trumpet really jumps out, and the only thing that hits is Williams's vocal contributions, which are only a small fraction of the song. Not a bad song, mind you, but somewhat unremarkable compared to the other fantastic offerings from the album. However, the delicate ending, returning back to Williams's delicate voice, is a good way to round out the song.

The next two songs, "Beyond" and "Motherboard," are some of the more interesting and unique tracks on the album. The former opens with an orchestral intro that reminds me of triumphant "Legend of Zelda" music every time I listen to it, before settling into the typical, slow disco beat that is this album's backbone. The transition is a bit jarring, but, ultimately, the song doesn't do anything to make me rebuke the structure this album repeatedly uses and reworks so well, especially with the varying vocal styles between the verse and the chorus. The latter goes in an entirely different direction, sounding almost like a peaceful, zen soundtrack, emphasizing a lilting flute until it takes a sudden, darker shift before an abrupt ending. I'll admit that this is one song that I wish stayed the same throughout, as the change here is perhaps the most jarring in the entire album and the flute-centric song is a pleasant surprise in a compulsively danceable album.

Then, the album moves into its home-stretch with "Fragments of Time," the group's reunion with "Face to Face" vocalist Todd Edwards. His contribution is a welcome return and his voice seems to fit in better with this style here than it did on "Discovery." The song has somewhat of a country twinge to it, but still keeps that disco flair present throughout.

And then, we get to "Doin' It Right." Of all the pre-emptive hype for this album, this was the one I was holding out for the most due to the contribution from Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) from Animal Collective. And, it does not disappoint. The Daft Punk vocals are essentially the framework for this song, while Lennox's slowly escalating voice builds consistently. The track is fairly repetitive, but catchy as all hell and one of the most memorable of the bunch. There's not much to say about it, but, believe me when I say you need to listen to the song to understand what I'm talking about.

But, Daft Punk isn't content to end their album without a bang, and they finish with the all-hell-breaks-loose bravado that is "Contact." What opens as a soft voice communication of one astronaut to another turns into a compelling build of synth and batshit crazy drums. And then, just as the song reaches its halfway point, the drums and synth go all out in full force as fuzzy noise enters slowly but surely, rising in pitch until it reaches a point of unfathomable intensity. And, just at its most insane moment, the song dies down a bit before throwing you back into the lion's den with one last barrage of noise. The first time I listened to this album all the way through, this song threw me way off my guard. It all but abandons the danceable structure of its predecessors for an all-out stunner of an ending.

And I cannot applaud Daft Punk enough for this decision. Though the song doesn't have the complexity of "Giorgio by Moroder" or the catchiness of "Doin' It Right," it's never failed to amaze me and give me goosebumps every time I've listened to it again. What's more is that, of all the songs on the album, this one nails its auditory feel the best: providing the listener with the experience of entry into a planet's atmosphere simply through music. And it's a hell of an accomplishment. What could have easily been the most droning and boring track on the album becomes a standout simply for how astoundingly far it goes and how it never ceases to be interesting in its progression. This is the song that made me want to listen to the album again immediately after I finished, and instantly became my favorite track on the album.

Overall, "Random Access Memories" may not have been the album that Daft Punk fans or music lovers necessarily wanted right now, but it's one that is impossible to resist. Every song has enjoyable nuances that are rarely found in current music, filled with unique twists and depth that make this album such a joy to revisit countless times. I didn't think that I would enjoy an album of this style as much as I did, but I had a blast listening to "Random Access Memories" multiple times and can't wait for the physical release to get my hands on a copy. It's certainly one of the most fun albums I've had the pleasure of listening to lately, and, if more musicians took a page from Daft Punk's playbook, we'd have a much more interesting and, dare I say, lively recent music culture.

Best Songs: "Contact," "Doin' It Right," "Giorgio by Moroder"
Worst Songs (no real bad songs on the album): "Touch," "The Game of Love"