Daft Punk Ready Third LP for March Release

With the exception of James Murphy, few of us carry the kind of clout it takes to book Daft Punk at our house, so we've had to get by for four long years on their 2001 release Discovery. Of course, we expected we'd be waiting a while for a follow-up-- it was, after all, five years between the release of that album and their 1997 debut, Homework-- but that doesn't change the fact that life since has been growing gradually duller and altogether less fun.

But here it is, freshly 2005, and we stand once again in anticipation, desperate for another shot of the French duo's special dance-inducing tonic that is not 2004's remix travesty, Daft Club. And on March 22st (or March 21st, if you're in the UK), Daft Punk will punctually oblige, with the release of their third album, Human After All. According to Billboard, the record will offer a heaping 10-song helping. Pace yourself:

01 Human After All
02 The Prime Time of Your Life
03 Robot Rock
04 Steam Machine
05 Make Love
06 The Brainwasher
07 On/Off
08 Television Rules the Nation
09 Technologic
10 Emotion

The group's two masked leaders, Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem Christo, have been keeping busy lately hawking adorable action figures, a calculated business move stemming from their scoring duties on the animated film Interstella 5555. These strange new ventures may help to explain the band's apparent foray into warmer, more personal tones than their previous work. Billboard reports (with a straight face, no less) that "Robot Rock" will include elements of rock 'n' roll and "Make Love" will incorporate "un-ironic emotional sentiments." We're guessing the final track is the ironic one. Throw in the title track, plus the decidedly analogue approach implied by "Steam Machine", and this record could very well evoke the image of an actual human face. But will it get us through the next five years? We can already feel our lifeforce dimming...