With their self-titled 2007 debut, French manufacturing duo Justice – Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay – established themselves as promising Daft Punk successors. Combining arena-sized drum tracks with squealing guitars and a thundering dancefloor pulse, they delivered gargantuan melodic hooks with gut-thumping power. But subsequent releases have struggled to elicit the identical sense of vitality. Audio, Video, Disco, from 2011, veered into the difficult world of prog, whereas 2016’s Girl tried a disco-pop crossover; neither was absolutely convincing. On their newest album, Justice try a return to their club-oriented roots.
Throughout 13 tracks, the pair discover their strengths within the heavier finish of the musical spectrum. Generator shudders by means of uncooked synths and techno kick-drums, offering an apt soundtrack for a postapocalyptic dancefloor, whereas the tonal switches on Incognito are delightfully unpredictable, shifting from disco bass to cavernous melody. On softer moments, although, they’re on much less regular floor. One Night time/All Night time drowns out visitor vocalist Kevin Parker’s falsetto with a plodding backing, whereas Saturnine grates in its interaction of chopped guitar strains and high-pitch vocals. Justice are nonetheless able to raw-edged pleasure, however on Hyperdrama they discover themselves too polished and brilliant.
