Released: 2023

Genres: Nu-Disco, Synth Funk, Progressive Electronic, Synthpop

The Musiquarium’s Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) Review Score: 9 out of 10

Arriving on the 10th anniversary of the release of their critically-acclaimed final album, Random Access Memories, this commemorating two-disc version of the album comes with the original album (no remastering necessary, as that album’s production still holds up today) and a second disc full of outtakes.

The original Random Access Memories still sounds as amazing as it did in 2013, with songs like Instant Crush, Get Lucky, Lose Yourself to Dance and Give Life Back to Music still sounding modern and fresh. With nu-disco becoming a prominent genre in the 2020s, R.A.M. seemed ahead of its time by making late seventies disco cool again.

The crown jewel on the second disc is Infinity Repeating, which features Julian Casablancas + The Voidz. This song marks the first canonical appearance of The Voidz (their debut, Tyranny, didn’t release until 2014), but was probably cut, as Casablancas (The Strokes) was already featured on Instant Crush. Horizon is another highlight, which was originally a Japan-only release. Most of the other songs consist of rough takes of songs and don’t really add too much to the album, but they give insight into the “making of” of one of the 2010s’ greatest pop albums.

While its unlikely that Daft Punk will ever reunite and release new music, Random Access Memories will at least go down in history as one of the greatest final albums and the 10th anniversary edition is a great way to experience the album, even if most of the second disc is superfluous.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Daft Punk on Discogs.

Back to the 2023 Album Guide or the Daft Punk Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard