LISTEN: 'Get Lucky,' the first single from Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories

The song: After months of anticipation — and dozens of songs falsely claiming to be "leaked" in advance — "Get Lucky," the first song from French electro-pop duo Daft Punk's upcoming album Random Access Memories, has finally been released. (Listen to "Get Lucky" below.) The song, which features a guitar riff from Nile Rodgers and silky-smooth vocals from Pharell Williams, is a catchy, disco-infused track sure to be a permanent fixture at dance clubs from here on out. Random Access Memories is Daft Punk's first standalone album since 2005's Human After All (though they released the concert album Alive in 2007, and collaborated with composer Joseph Trapanese on the soundtrack to 2010's Tron: Legacy). Does "Get Lucky" live up to the sky-high expectations for the upcoming album, or is Daft Punk's latest a disappointment?

The reaction: "Like all of Daft Punk's best songs, 'Get Lucky' works on two levels," says Kyle Anderson at Entertainment Weekly. "You can certainly dance to it if you've got a few friends and some strobe lights, but it also works as a multi-layered headphones thrill for anybody just sitting at a desk in front of an iMac. What really stands out is how accessible this song is, agrees Michael Cragg at The Guardian: "Get Lucky" is a tune with "a sort of all-encompassing timelessness to it — the sort of song that could work in a club and at a wedding reception." But is "Get Lucky" a little too basic? After so much hype, it's already "too big to fail," says Marc Hogan at Spin — but it's also "too slight to set your hair all a-Skrillex." Will the rest of Random Access Memories push Daft Punk's signature sound a little further? We'll find out when the album is released on May 21.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up