let's start by talking about daft punk themselves. they're french djs who started their careers in the 90s, and quickly became popular for their unique electronic style and mastering of sampling with Homework and Discovery. they adopted their robot personas near the release of their second album to maintain privacy around themselves, and to justify giving their music their robotic voices and vibes.
after a few other projects, they got the opportunity to make an album made with a real-life orchestra and a mix of their usual electronic music for some instruments. this is what they made.
this whole album is one of the best ever made. only bangers, no bad songs. genuinely, they're all good. let's talk about them!
starting the album with a guitar/bass riff that instantly puts you in the mood to enjoy it all, then followed by a theme we'll find a lot: pop-rock.
unlike their previous albums, this one focuses a lot more on them singing, alongside drums, claps and guitars instead of electronic beep-boop and sampling, and it's a good style. it goes well for daft punk. this sing in particular is a good introduction for it, even tho it feels a bit too generic for me.
we're now getting a more relaxed instrumental part and calm/slower lyrics/tempo, which i do appreciate more.
the lyrics themselves being about love can seem like this will be any other song about love, but the daft punk really handle it well. it doesn't feel like a love letter to someone, just something they really want to have.
this isn't the type of thing you'd sing to, but more so chill out with or hug a blåhaj while listening to it
this is a homage to Giorgio, which is the precursor and inventor or electronic music, which the daft punk admired and got inspired by when they started.
the song unexpectedly starts with the voice of giorgio himself, speaking about his career's beginning and part of his life before he became known to the world. the music itself is made by the daft punk, even tho giorgio did wanted to make it.
the music during the interview part is really minimalist in order to not cover up giorgio or distract you from him. after it ends, we're sent into a world where electronic music is the only thing to vibe to. daft punk do have a lot of experience at making it by now, they do know how to replicate giorgio's style and they do it well. goes out for a bit too long imo, but i don't mind listening to more peak.
at some point in the middle of the song, part of giorgio's interview makes a come back and reminds the audience that he really did whatever he wanted. the instrumentals then calm down for a little bit, before the previous melody comes back but with a battery alongside more instruments in order to give it more punch. i personally prefer the first instrumental part, but this is also fine. i don't mind it too much, but i don't think the battery needed to last for what feels like all of it.
this one is much, much calmer. piano intro, chill battery/bass/guitar combo and some more piano between chorus and verses. it feels line an interlude, seeing how the next few tracks are only bangers.
this is my favourite track of the whole album. it contrasts with everything else by being way more chill and way slower. i love the melody and theme of it.
my understanding of it is that it talks about someone's problems *within* themselves, someone who's not sure what to do, what to be, who to be. the chill melody helps them in their process as to not overload them.
we're getting into the radio-friendly territory with this one, and i'm sure you've heard it. lots of bass, very easy to dance to at parties, remix-friendly, lyrics you can try to sing to (good luck with the chorus, it took me a while but i can do it!)
the song itself is everything you'd expect: singing with a robotic filter, battery/bass for a good tempo, electronic guitar for the melody (even has a solo before the second chorus), and a generic theme (love). in a sense, it feels like a continuation of The Game Of Love, but executed better. the instrumental outro boosts it imo.
we're getting the goat pharrell to sing in this one. huge W. the song itself is very much made for the beginning of parties when the beers have still yet to be served. it's very much a disco one. i like it.
instruments are pretty generic, but i feel like there's something missing. i don't know how to explain it. it could be better, but it's still pretty good. it feels empty. maybe is it the claps being too noticeable? i don't know.
i really like the robot voices in the background, they play with the stereo well and don't distract too much.
probably the one i like the least in this album. it takes way too long to start, and i end up skipping the introduction every single time. it gets better after it tho.
paul williams is here to sing us this one, and i really like him. he fits the song well. i'm not sure what he wants to say with those lyrics tho.
after the intro, we're getting a much better build-up thanks to paul's voice, as instruments slowly join in to form and perform the instrumental chorus, which is definitely the peak of this song. i really like it. the added trumpets can feel unnecessary, but they give this song its uniqueness, as they're (unless i forget to edit this out) never heard anywhere else in the album.
we're then greeted by a calmer part that a piano initiates, alongside a vocal loop from the daft punks. we're pretty much only getting a battery to do tis part, alongside the singing and a choir to give it importance. after them, the song goes back to an instrumental-only part, before the choir slowly comes back to end it. i absolutely love this part.
even tho the intro is horrendous, the rest of the song is peak, even tho a bit long.
you know this one. pharrell returns, alongside nile rodgers, to give us the most popular and well-known song of this album.
this feels like a pharrell song ft the daft punk to me more than anything else. it's pop, it's radio-friendly, it's good to dance to and sing, the lyrics don't really have a strong message to pass, but they work.
i vibe to this one a lot. absolute cinema.
starts off with the orchestra remembering you it's there and what it's capable of. good intro.
the song itself feels like if the daft punks wanted to make a pop song. it doesn't really work that well, but the result is still very interesting to listen to. i don't have much to say about it.
surprisingly, a fully instrumental song. the orchestra really knows what they're doing, and daft punk mixes it so well. i'm not sure what the main instrument is, but i love it.
this song is the one that reminds me the most of their previous work, although it is way less electronic. it's just a great piece of music to vibe with for a few minutes.
halfway through the song, a slime-y/wet instrument comes around, alongside an eerie atmosphere. we can hear the previous instruments try to fight back against it for a bit, before being weakened and finally coming back full force for a last instrumental part. i really like this battle of worlds. well done.
underrated. we're getting another radio-friendly song, but this time a bit calmer. reminds me of Move Yourself To Dance, but there isn't that feeling of something missing.
todd edwards is here to sing us this one, and i really like what he did. it's handled greatly.
the song itself is very good to sing to and vibe with, there's no real mood it puts you on. good background noises, although it can get stuck in your head a bit too easily imo.
instrumental loop that gets you instantly, very simple. the vocal loop remind me of Around The World, but this is clearly not trying to be it. it's simpler, slower, less bouncy.
panda bear is here to add some lyrics and form the chorus, i like his integration into the song.
i really like this one, as simple as it is. i don't know why. the daft punk are talented at this music thing.
ending the album beautifully with this one. i'm not sure what they were going for with it, but i really like it.
the vocals in the first part remind me a bit of gorillaz's. we're then transported into a fully instrumental song for the rest of it, and it reminds me of motherboard a bit as the style is pretty chaotic and busy, but also organised. we're even getting an electric guitar! i really like this song as an outro.
the last part feels like daft punk have reached the end of what they're capable of doing, as their robot personas "shut down" and glitch. knowing this was their last major project, it feels like a perfect ending of their career.
this album is peak. every single song is worth listening to. apart from touch's intro, i would never skip any part of any song, no matter how long they are. it's just that good.