This day marks the return of the original pioneers in the vastly popular genre of EDM (electronic dance music). It’s been hyped up for some time now, by fans old and new alike. This album is filled to the brim with a wide variety of sounds, ranging from the funk of the 70’s to the synthpop of the 80’s and beyond, with a little bit of classical instruments for some “classy flair”. While this album may fall under “Pop” in iTunes, after listening multiple times to the whole thing, I can call that a misnomer of the highest caliber.

The album that I’m reviewing is the famed duo Daft Punk’s comeback album, Random Access Memories.

Daft Punk has been heralded as the pioneers of electronic music, from their early days of French House in Homework to the disco-pop of their highly acclaimed Discovery. They’ve always been known for making the music that they liked, acting as total contrarians to the seas of crowd-pandering artists that have inhabited the music industry since the dawn of the art itself. This tactic, of course, is somewhat polarizing to their fans, who oftentimes adore the style of one album (usually their first) and initially lash out at anything different. Once again, they’ve redefined themselves with another controversial release.

Instead of summarizing my views on this album, I’ll just list my thoughts on each song. It’s a great excuse to continue to listen:

1. Give Life Back to Music- A simply awesome opening. The intro builds up to a funky rhythm that’s easy to get stuck in your head. This song has the brief vocals done by the duo themselves.

2. Game of Love- A slower style than the previous, this song is more for relaxing than releasing a groovy jive. Good for easy listening.

3. Giorgio by Moroder- a strange yet chill-inducing song that uses an interview with the titular musician as the lyrics. All spoken, not sung. The synth in background starts out plain, but it escalates into powerful beat after Giorgio stops for a moment.

4. Within- a piano opening that’s more than suitable for this piece. This song has a moody feel with it at first, but the refrain is jumpy in tone. Somewhat trippy.

5. Instant Crush- Sung by Julain Casablanxa with some voice affects. Could be labelled as electric pop. This song is mixes contemporary pop with DP’s electro stylings.

6. Lose Yourself to Dance- With the help of vocalist Pharrell Williams, the first true dance song has appeared. His vocals tie very well with funky guitar behind him. This would fit well in a disco.

7. Touch- the most experimental song on the whole album, with a two minute intro that’s very misleading. Paul William’s voice is something to behold, along side the choirs and jazz band of this song. Probably my favorite.

8. Get Lucky- the first leaked song of the album, with caused the well-deserved surge in hype. One of the best in the album.

9. Beyond- the intro is just fantastic. I can really only describe this as a Daft Punk song.

10. Motherboard- a simple instrumental that’s nice to listen too. Uses a variety of instruments that some work really well together.

11. Fragments of Time- Another good combo of jazz and electronic. Probably would be more akin to R&B, though, as its on the faster side

12. Doing it Right- A very electro beginning. Panda Bear’s entrance really shifts it up though. Hard to describe, in all honesty

13. Contact- Chills. That’s really enough to describe this album’s climax. Features some cool astronaut dialogue before the synth decides to blast you with music. Another keeper.

Before this ends, I just want to say that I have only become a fan recently after listening to Discovery for a bit. I had heard that some were disappointed with this album, but I am more than satisfied with it. They had probably hyped it up to more than it could possibly ever be.

So far though, this is the current album playing on repeat in my head, and it will be hard for others to knock it off its throne.