Homework

CD Cover Daft Punk
Virgin

Review by Darren Gawle



45-second excerpt from "Revolution 909" (various formats)


O.K., so by now it seems like only a hermit wouldn't know who Daft Punk is and wouldn't be getting really fucked off about seeing that video for the 1000th time. Time to ask yourself if the rest of the album is any good, then.

Well, no, this isn't exactly a good album by any stretch of the imagination. Aside from tracks like "Revolution 909" and "Fresh," Homework is the work of a couple of DJs who sound amateurish at best. Just about all of the songs follow the same formula of starting off with a drumbeat for the first minute-and-a-half and then slowly bringing in other elements, so that by the end of the song you've listened to the same riff over and over again for up to seven minutes (assuming you haven't pushed the track skip button already.)

In some way, though, this is probably why "Da Funk" has been such a hit -- people associate the song more with its video than as a song in its own right. "Fresh" rises above this problem by conveying a definite atmosphere and by having the best melody on the album, but after the irritating four minutes of feedback during "Rollin' & Scratchin'," I'll respect anyone who can willingly sit through the rest of the album.

If you already own Homework, best to bring it to the record exchange before it floods the second-hand market -- or else it will sit at the back of your closet with your Soup Dragons and Blind Melon CD's.




First published in Drop-D Magazine on June 20, 1997

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