More than half-way through the new Daft Punk album, and I feel it’s just Daft Punk lite. The inventive beats have mostly been supplanted by jangling disco guitars. Some of it reminds me of Hall and Oates with robot voices. There are some funky moments in Random Access Memories that recall late-1970s era Prince, but it’s still not as strong as some of the music on that legendary artist’s early work like Dirty Mind.
It’s a weird thing anticipation does. Having followed Daft Punk from the start, this new album seems to seep and swoosh around as easy-listening Saturday morning music, and lacks the sudden impact that earlier albums have had. How appropriate it shows up early in the morning on the weekend as the sun rises. If it’s dull, it’s pleasantly dull.
Decide for yourself, click the image below to visit the iTunes store and open your iTunes player (or download it) to hear it:
Edit: The last five minutes includes a bit of the noisy, driving Daft Punk that I first fell for.
Edit 2: Daft Punk have now released the entire album to stream via YouTube (iTunes stream still sounds better, though):
From my one listen, I LOVE what I have heard so far. But the music is very “me” – I love the 70s and a bit of prog rock and a bit of funk. It’s not their usual sort of sound, though, so it’s interesting to see what die hard Daft Punk fans think of it. I love Daft Punk but this album comes closest to my main tastes in music.
Interesting mix of musical tastes. If you like the persistent guitars and prog aspects you should check out Neu! who influenced Bowie when he went to Germany.
Thanks for the tip. Hubby agrees I should check them out as I also like stuff like Kraftwerk. 🙂
Hi there,
I just love Daft Punks, they were just here in Sweden for a consert a got excelent Reviews!
/anna
Having seen them live, I know what you mean. They are a fun experience live. However, this album feels very “safe” and rather inoffensive. It’s easy to listen to. I played it again and only one song jumps out as catchy and interesting. It appears during the last 15 minutes. I think it’s “Motherboard.”