One More Time
Kicking things off with a crisp four-on-the-floor beat, perfectly cut horns, and heavy use of the vocoder all result in a jubilant and merry start to the album.
Aerodynamic
Heavy flanged synthesizers are everywhere in the backdrop during the beginning of this track but soon take a back-seat to arpeggiated sawtooth synths. Definitely a different direction from the tone that ‘One More Time’ set.
Digital Love
This is a really well-named song; ‘Digital Love’ is a fascinating poppy ballad combining genre classics like background guitar strumming and saccharine lyrics with a touch of vocoder on the vocals and the looping omnipresent on this album.
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Probably the best-known song on the album, the driving percussive beat and staccato lyrics evoke an assembly line (although I may be drawing heavy inspiration from the portion of Interstella 5555 during which this played.)
Crescendolls
This one feels like a call back to the atmosphere created in ‘One More Time’ with whoops and hollers set to a steadily ascending funky guitar lick. ‘Crescendolls’ has an especially saturated soundscape that becomes abundantly clear during the breakdown.
Nightvision
After ‘Crescendolls” high-energy ruckus, ‘Nightvision’ is a welcome soothing interlude with spacey swelling synths and gentle electric piano driving the song forward. On its own, ‘Nightvision’ is often skipped but within the context of the album, it is a lovely palate cleanser.
Superheroes
The curt snare roll and fervent driving bass beat that kick off ‘Superheroes’ snap the listener out of the lull induced by the previous song. However, the intro is followed with an infinitely-repeated vocal loop that quickly causes one to lose interest. A rare weak spot in the album.
High Life
Unfortunately, one of the other weak spots in the album—the up tempo beginning and soaring vocal loops create a glitzy promise of so much more that is never fulfilled in this track. Another superficial track albeit with clever looping and editing throughout. A genius work of mixing but not super enjoyable.
Something About Us
Here starts my favorite three-song span in the album. ‘Something About Us’ is a relatively minimalistic somber crooner with heavily filtered guitar and synth and a straightforward bass line and drums. Only the heavy usage of synth lets you know this is a ‘Daft Punk’ song. The synth solo about halfway in is among my absolute favorites.
Voyager
One of the most-underrated songs by Daft Punk, ‘Voyager’ is a rollicking funky-fresh jam driven by a thumping and melodic baseline, one of the few songs on the album that allows the bass to shine. As usual, synths round out the soundscape especially in the treble registers resulting in an irresistible urge to bop your head to the beat.
Veridis Quo
Fun fact(s): if you pronounce the name of this song quickly, it sounds like “Very Disco”. Also, if you move the ‘veri’ to the end, you get “DisQuoVeri”, i.e. the name of the album. WHOA! Anyways, what starts out as a long church organ turns into a time-machine to the 80’s. Best listened to while driving a car around town at night with the windows down.
Short Circuit
The lead synth in the beginning is a bit too honky for me and frankly can hurt my ears. Another masterpiece of mixing that does not follow through melodically. However, the track abruptly shifts tone to a slower more ethereal loop that gets more and more distorted, evoking the name of the song. Very creative effects!
Face to Face
Excellent tune with melodic variety and innovative chopping results in a song that you like but can’t sing along with (until the vocals cut in.) Tragically, some of the loops used may have been on vinyl so those of you with revealing speakers may hear some popping artifacts. Don’t let that stop you from listening though.
Too Long
At first glance, ending the album with a 10 minute track called ‘Too Long’ may seem like a tongue-in-cheek comment by the robotic duo but this track is pound-for-pound, a perfect culmination to the album. Various concepts and stylistic choices used throughout the album are present here. The bass drives you forward, the drums and cymbals keep you engaged, and the vocals take you away to close out your journey with Daft Punk.
Summary
While I think there are some clear low points in the album and not every song has the ability to stand on its own as a single, Daft Punk created a masterpiece album here. ‘Discovery’ is a perfect marriage of electro-pop with house while sprinkling some old school lyrical tropes on top. I’ve gone back to this album on many an occasion and highly recommend this as an approachable introduction to Daft Punk that also stands the test of time.