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$13.99 CD
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DAFT PUNK
Random Access Memories
(Columbia)
 "Doin' It Right"
"Give Life Back to Music"
The media blitz surrounding Daft Punk's new full-length has been nearly unavoidable; from billboards and fly posters, teaser commercials on national TV, and a series of web videos, the duo managed to promote Random Access Memories in a way that hasn't really been seen in today's contemporary times, blending the pre-internet mentality of record promotion with many of the now-common tricks used in multi-platform communications. The album has seemingly caused a frenzy of hyperbolic critical response, with people either damning the record to no end or praising it with dramatic accolades.
In my opinion, Random Access Memories is more triumph than tragedy, more a grower than a shower (as funny as it may seem to label such a high-profile release as such), and displays a side of the band's talents that had essentially been only previously hinted upon. As a fan of Daft Punk over the years, I've always come to appreciate their embrace of pop kitsch; their particular ability to re-contextualize sonic ingredients or production touches which are often associated with novelty or perhaps carrying airs of "uncool" has always been a key strength, leading the group to build a fanbase that has managed to transcend genre lines, gaining approval from the dance, rap, indie, and even pop communities. Random Access Memories is essentially the summation of such feats, and sees the duo attempting to utilize their methods in an entirely new context; the album features next to no samples of other people's music, instead bringing together a massive roster of collaborators for a record that is pure pop in a way that pays homage to and strives to replicate an old, perhaps now-outdated methodology. Everything is performed by a crack team of session musicians accompanying the duo, and the pair's vocoder vocals are joined throughout by the contributions of folks like Pharrell Williams, Panda Bear, Giorgio Moroder, and Julian Casablancas.
While the album is a bit overlong and could use a touch of editing, it's rather surprising just how well it works; the biggest, most jarring change for many will likely be the live instrumentation and overall sonic landscape, which is more akin to the golden California sound of 1970s or early 1980s radio. Blending elements of blue-eyed soul, breezy disco pop, some epic progressive rock exploration, and lots of in-the-pocket groove, Random Access Memories is at first listen a massive retro throwback; there are catchy, radio-ready staples and more patience-testing "deep cuts" that forgo any easy payoff, and the vintage-sounding production gets subtly tweaked by modern technology. If you're a fan of the group's past triumphs, it's honestly difficult to say whether or not you'll get down with this; it's more akin to Steely Dan than Munich Machine, more Hall & Oates than Ralf & Florian. I applaud the duo for taking every opportunity to use their popularity to be able to push the envelope in a manner perhaps unexpected, though it really shouldn't be a surprise that they've decided to flex their cultural muscle in such a way. Discovery was just as much a pop record, but made on a much, much smaller budget and for a smaller audience; thinking about what the duo has already achieved over the years, and where they'd perhaps want to go next, would you honestly want them to simply make more tracks built upon loops and clipped vocoder phrases the same way that they had before, only with strings attached (both literally and figuratively)?
While I may not particularly enjoy every cut fully, overall this is a great album, one that will take a bit of work for some to warm to, and that may rub others the wrong way. Cheers to Daft Punk for not playing it safe, and for making a record that while sounding somewhat light and playful on the surface, is actually a rather dark comment on where we have been, where we are going, and what we have lost. This fleeting grasp at a past we can't all revisit is a true achievement for a talented artist, regardless of the context or circumstances. [IQ] |
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