I've had the songs from the internet for several weeks now but I thought it wouldn't be fair to write a review 'till I bought my own copy (the album's just been released worldwide this very morning).
I'm not a Daft Punk fan, let's get that straight. I'm not that much into techno-music, certainly not into disco-funk. And I'm NOT giving this album 5 stars because continental (and more specifically French) music became HOT all of a sudden. Don't worry, Madonna knows what she's doing... Vive L'Europe ET les Etats Unis, prenons le meilleur des deux mondes!
'One More Time' In Europe we all know this track by heart, young and old: Eurodance with transformed vocals by Romanthony. It's really great but the rest of the album's better. Let's move on, now shall we... 'Aerodynamic' A song that consists of two parts: aggresive breakbeats and a really fast guitar solo with some synths. This track is MASSIVE! 'Digital Love' Pure guitar pop with filtered Daft Punk-vocals, folllowed by devastating breaks. Phoenix meets Supertramp. A 100% FM-summer hit! 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' Filtered (again) disco-funk, but not to worry, their sound is ENORMOUS once again (nice 'contre-temps'). This is a clear stand-out track. Love it! 'Crescendolls' Extremely festive electro-house, a real party-track: a recurring gimmick, background voices with special effects and some filters. A Daft Punk-track like only Daft Punk can make 'em. 'Nightvision' Slow with mid-tempo rythms. It's a nice interlude. 'Superheroes' Pure Muscle Music. A mix of a hard house beat and a californian FM chorus, this is 'Star Wars' goes Disco. Easy but good. 'High Life' Real Daft Punk-voices brought up in crescendo. Simple plan but... MY GOD IT WORKS!!!!! 'Something About Us' Downtempo funk with some more delicious vocals by Thomas Bangalter. It's got a real laid back fancy edge to it. 'Voyager' Tender but firm. A very nice bassline with the usual guitar riffs and an 'ambiance mélancolique'. The Dafts show us their music can be subtle as well. It works for me! 'Veridis Quo' This is deep-electro with a sad vibe to it. This is not for the clubs but shows us Daft Punk have a lot up their sleeves... 'Short Circuit' Vintage Electro-funk meets modern electronics. Reminds me of Grand Master Flash (in part one) and the Aphex Twins' 'Windowlicker' (part two). First it SURPRISES, then it SEDUCES. 'Face To Face' The Perfect Daft Pop Song (with vocals by Todd Edwards). Brilliant, one of the best tracks on 'Discovery'! 'Too Long' This is a potential hit single with Romanthony on the vocals, like 'One More Time'. This track is no genious but it really works and delivers... The album ends like it begins: with a sure commercial hit.
All in all? PURE GENIOUS, BRILLIANT MUSIC but most of all A TON OF FUN and GROOVY DANCEFLOOR THEMES. Own this album and you (and everyone around you, for that matter) won't regret it. Discovery comes with an exclusive Daft Club membership card, where you get acces to every single new track or remix Thomas and Guy-Man want you to hear. And if that doesn't convince you I don't know what will...