This may not be Daft Punk’s most danceable album, but it’s certainly its most personal.
Review by David Feltman
From the Stephen Hawking vocalizations to the funky rhythms, Daft Punk picks up where it left off without missing a beat. But they may have slowed that beat down just a tad. Random Access Memories is the first real album in eight years (not counting the masterful scoring of the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack). Yet for a comeback album, it doesn’t feel the need to prove anything to anybody.
Daft Punk’s latest release is content to meander where necessary. The pulse is still there; it’s just not the high-energy thump of previous releases. With tracks ranging anywhere between four-to-nine-minutes, this isn’t an album in a rush to dance its ass off. It’s an album willing to take the time to complete a thought or two.
Random Access Memories catches the duo at its most introspective. The band is fearless in its willingness to strip the sources of its masked identity bare. All at once, there’s something groovy, disco and Motown about the French duos electronic dance compositions. Daft Punk pulls influences from everywhere: from the Prince style funk on “Lose Yourself to Dance,” to calling in The Temptations’ Paul Williams on “Touch.”
Serving as the band’s thesis statement and rasion d’etre, the most telling track is “Giorgio by Moroder.” The song begins with an interview from its namesake, discussing his origins in the music business. “Once you free your mind about a concept of harmony and of music being correct you can do whatever you want,” says Moroder, completely and beautifully summing up the album’s entire message. This may not be Daft Punk’s most danceable album, but it’s certainly its most personal.
