995 Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (2013)

995 Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (2013)


Studio Album - Electronic Disco/Funk



About the Act:

Daft Punk are an Electronic Music Project comprising Parisians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter.  They formed in 1993, but came to international prominence in the late 90s/early 00s with their funk-inspired synth-pop. They wear ornate helmets and gloves to assume robot personas in most public appearances. They have released four studio albums. Their best-known track is "Get Lucky" which features Pharrell Williams.

About the Album:

This is the fourth studio album by Daft Punk, and at the time of writing this, their most recent. There is a deliberate move away from sampling other people's work to using "real" musicians for this album. It is deliberately retro in feel, harking back to music of the late 70s/early 80s, particularly from LA.

My History with this Album:

None, although like many people I have heard the track "Get Lucky" ad nauseum on the radio.

Review: 

I used to quite like Daft Punk. As a long time fan of funk and such stuff, I liked what they were doing.  I don't like "Get Lucky". It's quite a nice groove, I'll admit, but I don't particularly like the sentiment.  And it was played too much on the radio.  The rest of the album is a mishmash of other dancy stuff in the same vein, and a few tracks that are more like modern R&B/Soul to my mind. There's a track in which Giorgio Morodor talks about his career and the backing is quite nice, but I don't think it really works as a song or track. 

So, overall, there were moments when I tapped my foot and nodded my head, but the rest left me somewhat cold. As an album it feels disjointed, lyrically facile (I expected nothing more) but musically just not groovy enough. It's a shame but my opinion of Daft Punk has actually gone down as a result of listening to this album twice.

4.5/10



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