Justice - Audio, Video, Disco


Even 2007-Shaun, a past version of myself that was often far from musically-adept, could appreciate the immensely happy and infectious tracks that emerged from Justice's debut, Cross - particularly D.A.N.C.E. and We Are Your Friends, the hits which propelled them into mainstream dance giants. Unsurprisingly, the duo refuse to stray too far from the sonic formula that made them big - and Audio, Video, Disco has consequently divided opinion over their musical progress.

From the get-go, with rip-roaring 'Horsepower', Justice are in familiar territory. Sounding closer to the soundtrack to Street Fighter or Gladiators' theme tune, it carelessly chucks out 8-bit synths and epic solos that are a little bit kitsch. First single 'Civilization', accompanied with my favourite music video of the year (where buffalo stampede through falling replicas of classical architecture), is a hotbed of suspense and crashing energy - sadly an energy that rarely gets reintroduced throughout AVD.


'Ohio' though is an intoxicating blend of gospel-whispers, classic hip-hop indulgence and French-renaissance instrumental samples, featuring someone from Midnight Juggernauts (?) Around the 3rd minute mark though it reverts to a classic Justice squelch. There's something of the 70s about 'Canon', particularly its 'Primo', though - think Led Zeppelin gone electro. They'll go on to strongly emulate Queen later, but for now 'Canon' almost defiantly kicks glam-rock riffs in your face but sadly lacks in direction.

Morgan Phalen's vocals go some way in reinforcing the prog-rock influences - 'On'n'On' freely sings about girls and drinking with a clear Kashmir pastiche. From Ledzep we go to Queen on 'Brian(May?)vision', with unabashed guitar solos, and a heavy We Will Rock You ersatz in 'Parade' - the latter of which is far too imitative to really stick out with any merit of its own. The journey through hard-rock enters the 80s and the drivetime-epic sounds of 'New Lands' that are easily more compatible with electronica, and it's markedly catchier than its predecessors.

We're then given a small glimpse of silly-Justice on 'Helix' with a disco-funk tune randomly interspersed with some dude's random moans and 'yeah's. It's perhaps at their most light-hearted that the French duo make their most irresistable music, but then the shift of genres could be to blame for some of this record's failings. That they should choose to end with the title track is a small miracle, then, given its less direct samples of classical genres. Of course, the killer synth hook gives it its sheen.


Perhaps they're just running out of hooks - but, whilst I don't criticise their forray into alternative genres and influences, it's their childlike vibrancy that's sadly sparse on their sophomore record. There are fine tracks, though, and I'm not too worried yet about the direction they're going in - as long as they manage to rekindle their audience with...well, electronic music again.

Rating: 6.5/10
Highlights: On'n'On, Civilization, New Lands
Avoid: Parade

Artwork Watch: Not a tombstone. Not a tombstone. Not a tombstone. *blindly looks forward to Album #3*

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues, a review

Image
In 2008 the Fleet Foxes launched onto the music scene with their eponymous debut, landing themselves #1 positions in end-of-year reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Times and Mojo. Their unique brand of baroque-fused folk struck a chord with many, and the time has now come for them to follow that success up. In May they will release 'Helplessness Blues', the title track for which they recently released as a free download. The opening track 'Montezuma' is a slow repeat of their signature sound - the version I have unfortunately riddled with a few technical glitches - a minimalist and pensive reflection on life and impending death. In dirth or in excess /Both the slave and the empress/ Will return to the dirt I guess/ Naked as when they came. There's a slight rockabilly tune to 'Bedouin Dress', a slight threat to Robin's claim that the record will be "less poppy, less upbeat and more groove-based". The groove is certainly here, a Garfunkelia
Read more

Neon Trees - Picture Show

Image
The only other time I've seen another person acknowledge the existence of Neon Trees was when a pair of Americans came to stay with my next-door neighbours. Over here they've made almost no impression at all, but Stateside the band have tapped into an unusual fanbase. Their vocal twangs might scream Tyson Ritter (All-American Rejects) but their sound is a whole lot less pop-punk. In fact, pop might be a more succinct label. Their 2010 debut album Habits might've failed to wow critics but with the aid of monstrously-catchy hit (#13) single Animal they established a pretty solid fanbase. Sure enough it was just a collection of catchy pop songs, but they are Mormons. Expecting soul from them is too much, right? Predictably, their opener 'Moving in the Dark' heads straight for the stockpile sounds - a church organ and a 1985 synth give them their foot-tapping kickstart. Innocently spouting lyrics like "Live fast, it's a feeling not an art"
Read more

Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart

Image
"Dr Luke is kind of at the helm of American pop music and, in the beginning, I felt really excluded from that world. I was like, “Everything sounds the same; I don’t ever want to do that.” Then Katy Perry’s people asked if I wanted to support her in America. I bought her album and I was like, “This is actually really good.” Then I bought Ke$ha’s and obviously I had Britney’s LPs already. Slowly, I changed my perspective. If you’re in a club, you don’t necessarily want to be listening to super-meaningful music, but it doesn’t take the value away from it." The idea of personas and characters in pop music predates Marina Diamandis' birth. Today, though, there are increasing signs that the ability to reinvent one's image in the most commercial sense is a cheap excuse to sell out and aim for chart stardom. Diamandis, achieving somewhat lukewarm praise for her debut record The Family Jewels despite being a collection of excellent new wave pop songs, has thus
Read more