The new Daft Punk album, Random Access Memories, began streaming late last night on iTunes in anticipation to it’s May 17th release date. Following the release of the album’s lead single, "Get Lucky," last month, the hype for their new fourth studio album has reached a critical mass."Get Lucky," with its disco-laden melody and smooth vocals by Pharrell, has given hope to Daft Punk fans who now see Random Access Memories as potentially being the band’s comeback. The stream of the single has already captured the attention of EDM worshippers and music enthusiasts around the world, going No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Plus, Spotify is claiming its now the most-streamed new song in the service’s history.
It’s been eight years since the release of Daft Punk’s last album, Human After All, with their only other work since then being the score for Disney’s Tron Legacy in 2010. Both releases had been met with mediocre reviews, in spite of the French duo’s wildly successful first two records, Homework and Discovery.
The full album stream has shown that while "Get Lucky" is not the only 70’s disco inspired track, the album further expands on the Daft Punk sound. It includes cuts that embody jazz fusion and some more straightforward rock tracks, such as "Instant Crush" which features The Strokes' vocalist, Julian Casablancas. The album is still overflowing with the rich, dance-funk bass lines that are expected of Daft Punk.
To really augment the overall 70’s aesthetic of the album, Daft Punk rrecruited a number of other artists in addition to those previously mentioned, such as Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers, as well as Italian disco legend Giorgio Moroder and Animal Collective’s Panda Bear.
You can hear “Doin’ It Right” featuring Panda Bear below in an unofficial video. (link may break as Youtube and video have been aggressively trying to remove these leaks.)
Expect a full album review here when the record drops next week.