Review: Random Access Memories – Daft Punk

Album Review by Juhi Matta

Random Access Memories – Daft Punk (Daft Life / Columbia, 2013)

My Rating: 5/5

Standout tracks: Doin’ It Right (feat. Panda Bear), Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams), Give Life Back to Music

Comedian Tom Scharpling recently tweeted, “This new Daft Punk album better have healing powers if it’s gonna live up to the hype”. He did have a valid point. Ever since the band’s Coachella teaser for Random Access Memories, it seemed like you couldn’t be on the internet without seeing something about Daft Punk.

About a month ago, I gave in and (finally) got around to listen to Daft Punk’s discography and was pleasantly surprised. As someone who’s never been a fan of electronic music, I hardly expected myself to like their music, but I still did. I, too, started growing excited for the release of Random Access Memories.

On May 13, when the French duo’s newest album was streamed on iTunes, everyone was surprised at how different it was from their previous efforts. Where the robots’ music was previously characterized by its instrumental nature and extensive sampling, Random Access Memories uses live vocals and no samples (except on the track “Contact”, with DJ Falcon). The band join forces with a series of collaborators like Panda Bear (Animal Collective), Julian Casablancas (The Strokes), Nile Rodgers (CHIC), Pharrell Williams (N*E*R*D) and Giorgio Moroder among others. The result? Tracks that are groovy, yet mellow and even melancholic at times.

On the standout track, “Doin’ It Right (feat. Panda Bear)”, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo chant “Doing it right / Everybody will be dancing and we’re / Feeling it right” through vocoders as Panda Bear takes the front seat. Having never heard any of Panda’s solo work, I was pleasantly surprised at his vocals, especially considering the fact that the track was almost impromptu. The opening track of the album, “Give Life Back to Music”, is yet another strong point of the LP. Nile Rodgers plays the guitar as Daft Punk sing (through vocoders, of course) about bringing life back to musique. “Give Life Back to Music”, “Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)” and “Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams)” are probably the most Daft Punk-y tracks on the album.

The album isn’t without surprises, though. Random Access Memories features many ballads and introspective pieces like “The Game of Love”, “Within” and “Beyond”. While the tracks are not like the duo’s previous works, they’re still a great listen.

The only thing working against Random Access Memories, however, might be the hype surrounding it. Daft Punk’s meticulous promotional campaign for their first real studio album in eight years made people hope for a Discovery 2.0. Is Random Access Memories Discovery 2.0? No. Is it just as good? Yes.

Does it have healing powers? Only time will tell.