Artist: Justice

Album: Audio, Video, Disco.

Label: Ed Banger

Release Date: Oct. 24, 2011

Top Track: Helix

Sounds Like: Deadmau5 meets Queen

Decibels: 4/5

Electronic dance music is all the rage in the United States. Big name disc jockeys and producers dominate Top 40 radio, yet Justice is still not a household name.

But the French electronic duo has gained popularity since the release of their 2007 debut album and gigantic world tour. After being thrust into the spotlight after the album’s release, Justice retreated. They stopped touring and recording. Now, four years later, they return with ‘Audio, Video, Disco.’ It’s an album dramatically different from its predecessor but will have listeners dancing and bobbing their heads.

If ‘†‘ was Justice’s attempt at making a science fiction Daft Punk-like tribute, ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ is an ode to ‘70s rock gods like Led Zeppelin, The Who and Queen. The prospect of blending progressive and classic rock with thumping bass, synthesizers and other Microsoft Pro Tools noises may sound strange, but Justice not only makes it work, they also make it sound natural. 

Deep organ sounds and pounding cymbals flood album opener ‘Horsepower.’ After about a minute, the beat drops and explodes with a Queen-like guitar riff, a down-tuned, distorted bass and haunting synthesizer. It’s the perfect song for any Halloween soundtrack.

Its 4/4 time signature invokes the feeling of a motor running as it fades perfectly into the album’s first single, ‘Civilization,’ featured in a recent Adidas ad. Once again, down-tuned bass and electronic drums dominate the track as guest vocalist Ali Love provides lyrics about war and devastation. The chorus’ combination of massive keytar, bass and guitar riffs will have any party’s dance floor rocking.

The album slows down a bit with the Led Zeppelin-inspired electro-pop track ‘On’n’On.’ Guest collaborator Morgan Phalen’s high-pitched wail fits perfectly over a heavily distorted guitar that bears a striking resemblance to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir.’ In keeping with the theme of ‘70s progressive rock, beautiful flute solos float over the keyboard riffs. The slowest song on the album, ‘Ohio,’ builds up one instrument at a time, especially with its hypnotic piano riff. Two minutes in, the sound dies out and a guitar solo using phaser effects takes over.

Justice rarely uses an electronic effect when playing guitar on ‘†,‘ but they use this new instrumentation to enforce their new dance-rock sound. ‘Brianvision’ is a perfect example. It features fine fingerpicking, a la ‘70s hair metal. The disco- and punk-inspired ‘Helix’ makes great use of a sleek, distorted guitar riff. The band layers the same riff multiple times with various keyboard instruments and scatters chopped up vocals singing the words, ‘No, I don’t care,’ on repeat throughout the song. Justice adds their electronic magic touch to both songs, and one cannot help but dance around.

Title track ‘Audio, Video, Disco’ bids the listener farewell with a lavish sendoff, its infusion of organ, palm-muted guitar and piano blasting radiantly from the speakers. A soothing voice simply repeats ‘audio, video, disco’ in the entire track, but it works perfectly. What the song lacks in build, it makes up for with its charming use of the same simplistic instrumentation throughout the album. There’s no doubt it will be a stable in plenty of disc jockeys’ sets over the next few months.

Even though Justice mashes together so many different genres in one album, they never seem overwhelmed. They took the dance ability of their debut and let their heavy rock influences lead them in a new direction. The result is a cohesive sophomore album that still packs a disco-house assault, but Justice has upgraded their sound from the clubs to the stadiums. 

drbleckn@syr.edu

Published on October 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm