Daft Punk - Random Access Memories - 8/10
The fact that Columbia Records greenlit a conceptual and massive release like this shows that there are still record industry people who recognize good talent when they hear it. I am not a fan of Pharell’s singing. He could be smoother but does an adequate job on “Get Lucky.” His real shining moment for me is “Lose Yourself To Dance.” Has there ever been a catchier roboto background vocal than the scaling “come on come on come on” on the same song? Overall I like that Daft Punk have reinvented themselves and shown that a few catchy house beats do not a career make. These guys have moved into a new musical realm with this one. I love the focus on 70s and 80s soft rock, funk and disco that they flirted with this time around (a touch of Nile Rodgers’ influence no doubt whose songs for Chic are still seminal dance tunes to this day). There’s almost a channeling of Earth, Wind and Fire at times too on this release which I really love. The one misstep for me seems to be Panda Bear (as if they were going for a Brian Wilson element that seems totally out of place with the electronics and mood of the album). However… I also love the vocoder. Although sounding undeniably retro, it’s wonderfully mastered here as a key ingredient of the song that has place, not some throwaway auto-tune gimmick to move units. The Paul Williams tune “Touch” is so great and out there as well, a wonderful space operatic! The closer “Contact” sounds like a great distorted cassette tape soundtrack for a 70s science show a la Jean-Michel Jarre (who seems to be a touchstone for his fellow Frenchmen on Random Access Memories as well). Gonna be a critic’s topper for 2013 I am sure.
