Lyric Riffs

“Face to Face” robo-funk stud, Todd Edwards, returns to the party on this reflective, good ol’ days number when DP were playing at everyone’s house, not just James Murphy‘s, to put the RAM ethos into dad-rock, smooth cruiser context, where random memories forever become timeless melodies; [LISTEN].

EDM shackles broken, DP reprise 70s pop maestro Paul Williams‘ orchestral thumb to space-funk cruise toward the dream beyond the dream, reinvigorating their tuneage hearts, as if for some reason one was still shocked to learn the French dancefloor robots have immensely progressive souls; [LISTEN].

There’s an obvious agenda on this cheeky ‘random’ comeback dancefloor slap, teasing hips when Daft Punk feels like it, filling lots of space with comedown sentiments. Studded with 70s pop heavyweight Paul Williams, vocoder babble and sweeping love rhetoric, consider this its satin bridge; [LISTEN].

The last in a series of A-side downers, king Stroke Julian gets a feathery Auto-Tune assist to lounge-funk preach familiar apathetic gospel way too early for a mid-life crisis, but just right for a ‘random access memory’ and the feeling that most friends are never what they appear to be; [LISTEN].

Getting released from prison, signing Chief Keef to a deal, and appearing in Spring Breakers is no slow start to a summer – Gucci Mane’s lifestyle makes for great entertainment. And it’s a good thing too because if not for the hard sell, his lyrics, even when revealing, would buckle under the monotony.

Side-A, if you’re listening to Random Access Memories in succession, starts to make more sense as a package downer here, with Daft Punk’s pill of choice, the vocoder, narrating a sad robot, key-twinkled ballad about looking within one’s strung-out robot soul to find emptiness. The ironing.

Another oddly placed A-side gem pays homage to invaluable Daft Punk inspiration, Giorgio Moroder, as the French knob-twiddling nerds dress an interview with the modulator pioneer in a jazz-funk number, scratch sessions and Human League synthesizer work, turning progression into gospel; [LISTEN].

Odd placement for a comedown track, following a dance-floor sentiment like “Give Life Back to Music.” But fitting blues realism, perhaps, as life can’t be one forever hot-step. Who knows, maybe the love game is an allegory for the music business. Still, though, why the heartache so early?; [LISTEN].

Dance-pop’s iconic knob-twiddlers ditch samples, hire a bevy of live talent on Columbia’s dime to “Give Life Back to Music.” Could have gone one of two ways. Thank the underground 80s disco Gods of LA yore that the two helmet-wearing French are the best nerds for the job. Queue the vocoder; [LISTEN].

Easily the diamond prism moment of Daft Punk comeback verite, rife with disco bell sparkles, handclaps and robo-mod talk boxin’ – “c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon” and don’t dare try and fight Pharrell‘s best MJ howls, nor Nile Rodgers’ laser funk sweeps, “lose yourself,” brother, “to dance;” [LISTEN].