RE: Music
05-14-2013, 04:24 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-14-2013, 04:38 AM by Stij.)
Aight.
Honestly, I'm underwhelmed on my first listen. I like the move toward more live instruments (there are some awesome funky guitar/bass parts), and I appreciate that they're trying something new - there are very few samples on this album, as far as I can tell. But only a few tunes really grabbed me.
A lot of the album feels meandering and unfocused - there are two really long tracks that just go all over the place. And there isn't really anything on the album that makes me want to get up and dance. The whole thing feels kind of melancholy, and there's nothing as exuberant as Harder Better Fast Stronger or Around the World. There are couple decent slow jams but nothing as sweet and silly as Digital Love.
The guest spots are pretty weak too. Like you, I'm not a big fan of Pharrell. Panda Bear and the dude from the Strokes show up, inexplicably, but they're nothing special. The collab with Todd Edwards is pretty good, though.
One thing that I did like was the vocoder - there's a lot of it on this album, and it sounds great. Super warm and expressive.
My favorite tracks so far are probably Give Life Back to Music, Get Lucky, Fragments of Time and Contact, which feels the most like a classic DP track of anything off the album.
Overall first impression: I like what they're trying to do in theory, but I'm not sure how well it sits with me in practice. Going through it a second time now; maybe my opinion will change. I think all the hype leading up to this album has biased me a little.
Honestly, I'm underwhelmed on my first listen. I like the move toward more live instruments (there are some awesome funky guitar/bass parts), and I appreciate that they're trying something new - there are very few samples on this album, as far as I can tell. But only a few tunes really grabbed me.
A lot of the album feels meandering and unfocused - there are two really long tracks that just go all over the place. And there isn't really anything on the album that makes me want to get up and dance. The whole thing feels kind of melancholy, and there's nothing as exuberant as Harder Better Fast Stronger or Around the World. There are couple decent slow jams but nothing as sweet and silly as Digital Love.
The guest spots are pretty weak too. Like you, I'm not a big fan of Pharrell. Panda Bear and the dude from the Strokes show up, inexplicably, but they're nothing special. The collab with Todd Edwards is pretty good, though.
One thing that I did like was the vocoder - there's a lot of it on this album, and it sounds great. Super warm and expressive.
My favorite tracks so far are probably Give Life Back to Music, Get Lucky, Fragments of Time and Contact, which feels the most like a classic DP track of anything off the album.
Overall first impression: I like what they're trying to do in theory, but I'm not sure how well it sits with me in practice. Going through it a second time now; maybe my opinion will change. I think all the hype leading up to this album has biased me a little.