Daft Punk: Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter (various instruments).
Recording information: Paris, France (2004).
Recorded in less than two months, HUMAN AFTER ALL, the third studio album by the French duo of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, gives off an immediate electronic rush. The opening title track, with its wonderfully distorted synthesizers and robotic vocals, might make listeners question whether humans created any of these sounds, but, chances are, they'll be too busy dancing to care. The most notable change in the Daft Punk aesthetic is the heavier presence of guitars (all played by de Homem-Christo and Bangalter), particularly on the aforementioned "Human After All" and the fuzzed-out funk of "Robot Rock." Of course, the duo excels at club beats, and the disc is filled with dance-floor-ready, vocoder-laden tunes, including the driving "Television Rules the Nation" and the break-neck-paced "Technologic."
What the critics say...
Uncut (p.99) - 4 stars out of 5 - "It has everything you've come to expect from a Daft Punk album - innovation, cracking tunes, a palpable sense of its own absurdity - but this time the whole shebang's cranked up to 11."
Alternative Press (p.138) - 4 out of 5 - "[T]he French duo pay cheeky tribute to the glory of repetition, android techno, distorted Roland 303s, robotic funk and vocodered singers intoning titles ad absurdum here."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.89) - 4 stars out of 5 - "HUMAN AFTER ALL strips out the most flamboyant frills to create a more incisive sound. Some of it is tough and forgiving....And some is pure pop plastique, all gloss and sheen..."
