
Random Access Memories is Daft Punk’s first album in eight years (unless the Tron Legacy official score is to be counted), being announced just months before its official release. The French house duo have abandoned their almost strictly electronic style of past albums, this time opting to use more live instruments and featuring a number of guest performers. The trademark synthesisers and vocoders remain present, but drum machines have been replaced with live drums on all but two tracks, and the closer is the only track to feature sampling.
The album is a tribute to American funk and dance music of the 1970s and 80s, but elements of French house music can still be heard. Nevertheless, fans of Daft Punk’s more straightforward electronic dance anthems may be disappointed. This does not mean the album is not danceable. The album is incredibly easy to dance to as with their past works (if not more so), but this time around things are more complex. On average, these tracks are at a slower tempo, utilising string instrumentation, and for many, may lack the ‘edge’ that the duo’s famous hits have. Other fans will more readily embrace the change. Random Access Memories, while still certainly sounding like Daft Punk, is a well-executed step in a new direction.
The disco influence is easy to enjoy, even for someone not usually a fan of disco. The album flows smoothly for the most part, and the guest performers are evenly placed, the strongest performances by Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder, and Paul Williams.
The album’s major downfall is its length. The album feels twenty minutes too long, with some tracks feeling like filler or redundant. “The Game of Love” and “Within” serve the same purpose, so only one of these feels necessary. “Beyond” and “Motherboard” are two slow paced tracks placed back-to-back, a decision that renders at least one of these tracks tiresome. The album’s sound is pleasing but there simply isn’t enough variation to justify seventy-four minutes of music.
The highlight’s do more than just save the album though. Funk oriented “Lose Yourself to Dance” and “Get Lucky” are standouts, along with “Giorgio by Moroder”, “Touch”, and album closer “Contact”. There are moments that hint at Daft Punk’s more electronic house oriented works- and the funk and disco influences are even more apparent on this album- but as a whole, the album offers a much welcomed change in the duo’s music.
carlcockatoo‘s rating: 4/5
Tags: album review, daft punk