I love it when an album just goes for it on an album level, when the record as a whole represents a gesture beyond the sum of its parts, coalescing into a narrative, a rumination on themes, an emotional arc or just a cohesive, flowing, 30-90 minute or so listening experience. That's something that happens here, augering Daft Punk's peerless live shows / albums, a pinnacle of flow and experience.
While I found Homework rather icy, Kraftwerkian in its robotic detachment, this is full of downright human notes, a real sense for beauty and emotional ebb and flow, evoking later acts like The Avalanches and Girl Talk that would spin cohesive listening arcs from even more disparate parts. From the disco pulse of Voyager, to the weird proggy interlude of Verdis Quo, to the honest to god Jamiroquai via Hot Chip ravers that close the album, there is interest in well-measured affirmation and subversion of expectation at every turn.
My only quibble is actually One More Time, which sets things off on a Stereotypes-on-The-Great-Escape-level unduly ugly party vibe, but once you get part that it's some laser-smooth sailing, straight on through 4.5/5
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment