To those non-adherents of electronic music, the entire genre sounds the same. But to those who know the difference between drum 'n' bass, dance and lounge and who are well-versed in the subsets of micro house, deep house, acid house, and the like, each DJ scratches distinctively.
There are some electronic greats that are immediately identifiable: Antoine Clamaran and his female vocals intertwined with jungle beats, Satoshi Tomiie with his dark, funky sets and the Chemical Brothers and their undulating acidic rhythms. In the case of Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem Christo's recently released LP, "Human After All," the moment the title and opening track start to play, you know you're listening to Daft Punk, because you heard it all before four years ago.
The French duo's first work since their sophomore release, "Discovery" (2001), "Human" was compiled in a Parisian studio in two to six weeks-depending on who your source is - and it's not hard to believe. The nine tracks and one interlude sound alarmingly like the ones in their highly successful earlier album.
The catchiest tune on the LP is certainly "Technologic" which, while fun and worthy of any throbbing dance floor, sounds eerily like the equally mesmerizing "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" we've all been playing since 2001 with its choppy escalating lyrics and intoxicating bass line. This time, it's 2005, and the sexually suggestive fragments of "Harder, Better" have been replaced with the currently appropriate jargon ("Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag it, zip/unzip it") of today's Powerbook-wielding generation.
In the same way, the lounge-like electronica of "Make Love" and "Emotion" remind us of at least four tracks from "Discovery" but especially of "Veridis Quo" which begins with an organ-like melody nearly identical to the opening strophes of the new disc's "Emotion."
"Human After All" and "The Prime Time of Your Life" are the more electronically vibrant songs on the record but they continue what "Short Circuit" did with its peppy, bursting beats. However, while that kind of effervescent song dominated "Discovery," the tracks that govern Daft Punk's third try are the more mysterious, shadowy ones.
Such murkiness is hinted at in rock-infused cuts like the first single, "Robot Rock," and the darker "Television Rules the Nation." Here, although the sound recalls "Aerodynamic" of bygone years, the melodies are admittedly more inculcated by the angry chords of an electric guitar, an instrument whose use in "Discovery" was snazzier.
In this sense, "Human After All" differs from its predecessor. Darker compositions like "Steam Machine" and "The Brainwasher" evoke images of angry cyborg phalanxes. This contrasts immensely with the happy, bubbly robots suggested by "Digital Love" and "Crescendolls" from their second album. These amiable automatons were so innocuous, in fact, that they were visually presented as attractive blue aliens in the cult favorite feature-length film "Interstella 5555" which set the entire "Discovery" album to the psychedelic anim?© of Leiji Matsumoto.
Perhaps the best way to differentiate between the two albums is to simply look at what the songs are about. "Discovery's" content is worthy of an intergalactic saga, with its tracks ranging from falling in love, to escape and ending with a happily-ever-after take on life. On the other hand, "Human After All" points out how overrun twenty-first century society is with technology, the media, and our effort to grasp the 15 minutes of fame or shame Warhol promised us.
Overall, however, both albums shed a positive light on the current state of global society. Though this new LP taints its depiction with an obvious dose of cynicism, it also closes with a soothing track on human emotions (appropriately titled "Emotion,") indicating that perhaps Daft Punk doesn't think technology is the end of us after all.
When de Homem Christo and Bangalter released their debut album, "Homework," in 1997, they were revolutionary-never had we heard anything like them. "Discovery" built upon the new sound of Daft Punk and got us hooked. In the four years since then, we've somewhat successfully forgotten the tune to "One More Time" and managed to build Daft Punk up to the level of electronic deities.
While "Human After All" is inspired, exuberant, and sure to produce hits as big as the previous albums' and lead to just as many remixes, devoted fans will recognize that much of that inspiration is the same kind Daft Punk showered on us in 2001 and, to a less palpable level, in 1997.
It seems that there is only so much innovation these French DJs can live up to, but if we consider the fact that they've only been around for eight years, they've given us enough groundbreaking sound to keep us going until at least their fourth record.
Maybe this newest LP's title can be interpreted in the sense that, quite simply, Daft Punk is, indeed, human after all.
