Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 27 / 5 / 2013

Label: Columbia
Format: CD

Manic but brilliant first album in over eight years from French electronic duo, Daft Punk

Review

Close to being the name for a television documentary series, 'Random Access Memories' starts experimentally. Melodic house music comes first on the opening track 'Give Life Back to Music', then soon after comes what sounds like the breaking point where Giorgio Moroder explains his techniques on 'Giorgio by Moroder'. Halfway through the same track Daft Punk blast into mayhem, as if they are in a car chase in a cheap detective series. Perhaps it is a tribute to the 'Shaft Theme'. Who can tell? Part two of Daft Punk's tour de force begins with 'Within'. Beats are mixed down to near oblivion, but the influence of the autobahn however continues to stand out. Daft Punk join Fleetwood Mac in their celebration of the Californian lifestyle on 'Instant Crush'. Community Attitude Par Excellence comes next on 'Lose Yourself To This', which gets the crowd clapping hands, as the beats and Nile Rodgers-style guitar licks come together. The third movement of 'Random Access Memories' kicks off with 'Touch'. Ultimately a ballroom tune, its pinball sounds and piano riffs rather misleadingly put you into a retrospective mood. Next, as Daft Punk party all the way, comes the message of 'Get Lucky', which is liable to become the song of 2013. 'Beyond' follows like an epilogue, but the best surprise comes from 'Motherboard', an almost entire workover of an insular Melodium track. Moving wiftly on to what will possibly become the next possible number one single lifted off 'Random Access Memories', 'Fragments Of Time' once again combines a sophisticated shuffle and a melodic message. For the last movement, not even an unequivocal one, Daft Punk lift off with some sci-fi nonsense but, in true pursuit of on-line contacts, the closing track 'Contacts' mocks in sound the idea of flame war words used on internet fora. I quite fancy the concept of 'RAM'. Ask me again in 2043. It is of such grand stature that it will take time to sink in.

Track Listing:-

1 Give Life Back to Music
2 The Game of Love
3 Giorgio by Moroder
4 Within
5 Instant Crush
6 Lose Yourself to Dance
7 Touch
8 Get Lucky
9 Beyond
10 Motherboard
11 Fragments of Time
12 Doin' it Right
13 Contact