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The French dance duo Justice has developed a different sound in the years since its acclaimed 2007 album, Cross. At various times throughout its new album, Audio, Video, Disco, Justice channels the Brian May side of Queen, Aerosmith riff rock and Ratatat. Whereas Justice’s last album was rooted in dark, moody dance music, the band describes the new album as its lighter, “daytime” album. This record is missing the darkness and intrigue of earlier efforts, but Justice proves it still knows how to create fun dance music.
The first track, “Horsepower,” builds up through striking chords to seventies rock guitar tones. The song transitions smoothly into the first single, “Civilization.” This song still lacks Justice’s distinctive dark feel, but it is more of a throwback to the duo’s classic neo-disco style. The chorus references “beating on a million drums,” and this could easily be a description of the song’s full sound.
Then a four-song set starts, which elaborates on the theme of Brian May guitar tone and Aerosmith-style riffage. “Ohio” is almost comical at first as layered and filtered vocals list the names of states until the faux-harpsichord and guitar fall back into the mix and the drum and bass drop into a tasty groove. The final, self-titled track follows in the same vein as the previous songs. The song is indistinguishable from others on the album and a lack of diversity in tone and instrumentation makes for an unmemorable closer.
This album has no track that compares to the catchiness of “D.A.N.C.E.” and it does not break ranks with other dance acts of today, but it is a fun record nonetheless, which benefits greatly from repeated listens. Audio, Video, Disco was one of the most anticipated dance albums in recent memory and, unfortunately, it does not live up to the hype.