Techno group intrigues audience
with album
 By
Alicia Swan
Staff Writer
Daft Punk is a hard duo to understand. It's as
if the listeners must do their research before its mystery can even
begin to unfold.
Daft Punk, the French progressive dance pair, released
its second album after four years of anticipation.
To have a full grasp of where Daft Punk is coming
from, and where it has been, it is essential to listen to the albums
in chronological order.
The first album, "Homework," unleashed a plethora
of funky rock with techno lacing tunes that gained the album quick notoriety.
Songs like "Around the World" and "Da Funk" were the most prominent
of the album when it was released in 1997.
The infamously faceless Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo
and Thomas Bangalter are among the likes of "Air" and "Stereolab"
with its unique blend of techno, pop and vocal stylings.
The duo worked together on their first project,
an electronic Indy cover band, Darling, in 1992. After gaining an interest
in electronic music, members turned their attentions to making a link
between rock 'n' roll and electronica.
According to a Daft Punk fan Web site, France,
home to both Christo and Bangalter, has turned its nose up at techno
music. The increasing popularity of raves has led the French government
to outlaw them in hopes of eradicating the drug use associated with
raves.
Consequently, techno music like that of Daft Punk,
has also been looked down upon for that very reason.
The group's latest effort, appropriately titled
"Discovery," finds the duo wondering through a mixture of techno beats,
synthesized voices, and a mixture of beat samples.
"One More Time," the album's first single, was
released months before the album was in stores. Complete with its first
full-length video since 1997, Daft Punk is poised for its catapult into
fame.
However, the album shows the members are ill equipped
for the long journey into stardom. While growth since the first album
is apparent, the path on which Daft Punk ventures from strays further
from the mainstream.
"Discovery" is a blend of different songs, ranging
from light-sounding techno to eerie and melancholy. Although some songs
are entertaining and others meaningful, still more feel obscure and
empty.
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is exactly the
kind of song that Daft Punks became known for. Funky beats with well-placed
digital samples are topped off with an electronic voice that claims
in the lyrics that "Hour work is never over." The song is an infectious
toe-tapper that proves the duo has become more experienced playing on
its equipment.
The tracks "Digital Love" and "Something About
Us" hold the same romantic sentiment, but delivers the message in two
totally different ways. "Digital Love" is a light and playful techno
ballad while it questions, "Why don't you play the game?" among guitar
riffs.
"Something About Us" is more of an enchanting cry
for love. The electronic vocals of the song plead, "There's something
about us, I want to say, was there something between us anyway?"
The definite dance track of the album is "High
Life," in which a woman's bellow is the most prominent sampling of the
dance track.
The album's remaining songs seem to be fillers.
"Verdis Quo" sounds like it came from the organ in a church while "Face
to Face" feels like a generic Daft Punk song made to take up space on
the CD.
The album carries its own persona. The good tracks
make the CD entertaining while the others compel one to continue listening.
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