14/Daft Punk/Random Access Memories
Earlier this year, way back in early May, the Robots returned to walk among us and quite possibly, if they were lucky, take over the world. And just what did they discover upon their return?
The present has no rhythm.
Sure, the catch all DANCE umbrella that we could place the duo's music under was flourishing and experiencing a revived popularity across charts, at award shows, and festivals across the globe, but for these two, something was off, missing even.
"Tell me what you see, I need something more..."
So Daft Punk did what many of us have done in our attempts to both understand and get with the present while also shaping a new path forward: they looked back; Accessing random bits and memories from the underbellies of their genre's past. Taking a breath as their peers and contemporaries keep busy running in place. Random Access Memories aims to give life back to music by showing it some respect and letting it breathe; working overtime to both show and tell you repeatedly over the course of its 75 minute running time how and why this music and all its roots + skeletal components matter. To fully glimpse these ambitions, start at the middle. From here onwards, Random Access Memories grows tired of being overtly educational or on the nose, and lets its hair down, going heavy on the show angle of their look back. Album highlight/centerpiece Touch sets things off in full, playing almost like the lead in for what is ultimately the album's crisp, perfectly sequnced side two, angels and choirs at the gates and all. From here on out til the robots lift off and bounce, the duo & their merry band of collaborators illuminate your airwaves with clean, well tailored assemblages that dabble in disco, yacht rock, 80s R&B, electronica, funk, whatever, requesting that you lose yourself to dance while they all barely break a sweat putting it all on the table. Heartbeats & rythms? Restored. Coast to the stars.
KEY TRACKS: Touch/Get Lucky/Doin' It Right
15/Wavves/Afraid of Heights
16/John Legend/Love in the Future
17/Devendra Banhart/Mala
18/David Bowie/The Next Day
19/Disclosure/Settle
20/Nine Inch Nails/Hesitation Marks
21/Tegan & Sara/Heartthrob
22/Thee Oh Sees/Floating Coffin
23/Rhye/Woman
24/Lorde/Pure Heroine
25/Savages/Silence Yourself
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