Album Review
Artist: Daft Punk
Title:Random Access Memories
Record Label: Daft Lite/Columbia
Release Date: 20th May 2013
Rating: 9.0/10
They said it was going to happen but no-one would listen. Don’t we all look bloody stupid now? Yep, as we thought the inevitable has happened, there has been an up rising, the robots are in control and we are their dutiful slaves. Their sole objective is to harvest has many humans as possible and slay them with their brutal powers of retro/futuro funk. Not quite the Terminator approach to the extinction of human kind, still it’s no surprise as the French Duo, Daft Punk don’t seem like Cyderdyne Systems Model 101, they’re too busy tinkering with all manner of gadgetry to ponder the impending doom of human kind. The synth overlords have greater plans on their circuit boards, like the resurrection of disco, the amassing of eclectic collaborators and the release of their fourth LP, Random Access Memories.
Arguably the most anticipated record of the year, Random Access Memories has been teased out for sometime now with the odd snippet of music cropping up here and there. Then after an absurd amount of speculation and a nice video intro, Daft Punk rebooted themselves for 2013 with an infectious slice of disco funk entitled ‘Get Lucky’. Now if you have been living in a cave for the best part of the year you’d have missed out on this Pharrell Williams fronted distillation of summer. The commotion around this first piece of original material since 2010 whipped up quite the storm and currently Daft Punk’s funky wares are sitting pretty at the top of the UK singles charts with over 50,000 copies sold. The fourth record by the robots is loosely connected to ‘Get Lucky’s carefree disco swagger and here lies Random Access Memories endearing charm, with dance music populated by Lo-Fi bedroom artists mumbling into their laptops or bro-step knuckle heads peddling EDM for all it’s worth, the man-machines have forged a sound that is refreshing, familiar, retro, futuristic and most importantly, fun.
Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo and Thomas Bangalter who adorn the robot helmets synonymous with Daft Punk have merged the ultimate marriage of organic instrumentation and synthetic gimmickry. Anyone expecting an odyssey through synths outer reaches will be short changed because the Parisian’s have taken their robotic digits and placed them on real live guitars and pianos and snared in the lavish flourishes of orchestral cinematics for a record that is as much flesh as it is circuitry. ‘Within’ is the most surprising of tracks when you consider the simple piano motifs blended with robotic vocals and the slightest wafts of electronic fuzz. ‘Beyond’ combines swooping strings fit for a celluloid masterpiece, before the ubiquitous strains of funk guitar swagger in with a down tempo disco groove.
There are flashes of when android mode is optimised, ultimately album closer ‘Control’ feels like Jesus has donned the pairs robotic helmets and is placing his holy palms on their synths for the evangelical digital breakdown at the songs birth, then the binary blood flow at the tracks finale is chaotic, with the song grinding to an abrasive halt, like digital warfare has been waged with no overall winner. ‘Giorgio by Moroder’ is a hook up whereby the Italian producer delivers a monologue about his life in music. It’s a job to know what is more compelling, hearing the living legend recall his ethos to boundary-less sonic experimentation or the shape-shifting aural journey Daft Punk deliver to support Moroder’s life story. This is a trip through disco, to an electronic odyssey, back again, into strings and then beyond to something that resembles an intergalactic space race.
Not content with releasing an album more anticipated than the second coming, Daft Punk have collared a role call of pals to contribute to their latest opus. Pharrell Williams not only helps out on ‘Get Lucky’ put also appears on ‘Lose Yourself To Dance’ which is a song steeped in funky rhythms and jubilant handclaps. Credit to Williams as the N.E.R.D. man sounds soulful as hell, easily out Timberlaking JT himself. The Strokes frontman, Julian Casablancas delivers an autotuned vocal to ‘Instant Crush’ which in itself sounds horrible but in reality the NYC resident should consider this vocal schtick for his day job because there’s not an undecipherable mumble in sight here. With the slightest hint of modern R ‘n’ B, Panda Bear from Animal Collective joined the Frenchmen on ‘Doing It Right’ and then bizarrely Daft Punk transport us all to Las Vegas with the showtune like charm of ‘Touch’ with vocals provided by Paul Williams.
Hype and expectation aside, Random Access Memories is a record of unparalleled brilliance. All hail Homem-Christo and Bangalter! We are your puny minions. All hail Daft Punk! You are our robot masters.
