Review Summary: Audio, Video, Disco is a horrible miscalculation on all fronts, a terrible vindication of the one hit wonder syndrome, it's Justice arriving for the wrong party
So a lot has been made about French electro powerhouse outfit Justice and their unequivocal disregard for the grandiose and operatic pummel and pull that saw them blazing through the world’s greatest dance festivals, burning neon cross in tow. There’s the usual criticism involving such complex thinking as “they’ve stepped out of their comfort zone” and the ever popular “sophomore slump”; and these claims are made because we react with puzzlement and incredulity at the complete absence of power and raw unfiltered energy that their debut LP
Cross reveled in. We judge it on these merits without pausing to contemplate whether or not Justice have merely stepped outside of
our comfort zones, as they substitute the jacked up bass and gritty distortion of their battery acid house with more melancholic disco house subtleties and loosely-disguised Zeppelin homage’s.
And it’s not that the collective heart of Justice isn’t in the right place, just as any artist believes that they’re doing the
right thing when they begrudgingly attempt to follow up such runaway success. Nothing here rings out as hollow or unfulfilled, but the transition is jarring and unsettling as the ruthless finds itself replaced with something a touch more flaccid, evolution replaced with a more caustic and assured ‘civilization’. The mustachio-sporting duo has in fact thrown everything that they know into the mix in hopes of a smooth reprieve and it shows, but only at face value.
Audio, Video, Disco fails to demonstrate any commendable improvement in the battle-scarred façade of the lively French practitioners, all the blood and sweat poured in only worsening the damage felt by the truly uninspiring material that pours out.
For something that tries it’s hardest to replicate the sing-along atmosphere of the hairspray metal from the less than memorable 80’s there’s a surprising lack of vitality, and all the directly implied cheese ends up falling on the wrong side of glorious. There are moments on offer that manage to hover slightly above dreadful, but they’re few and far between; the aforementioned ‘Civilization’ touches on the painstakingly applied aggressiveness of their debut, the only track here that falls back into the dance pop marathons they became famous for. ‘Canon’ becomes momentarily memorable as it simultaneously attempts to slip unnoticed between the prog fantasies of seminal luminaries Yes or, even Rush, before falling uncomfortably into schlocky jam band territory, and ‘Parade’ actually finds a comfortable home for the group’s hook filled maladies, if only for the tiniest of moments.
But then there’s the rest of the album, with its mid tempo pandering, its turned down to the inaudible soft cock house mongering, and its twitchy and tweaky synth-tinged guitars spiraling in cascading torrents of banality that play out like a half-weight Crookers impersonation. And perhaps the biggest problem to discuss is that for all their apparent love for the childish pomp and debauchery of tight-trousered perm rock, Justice simply has nothing new to add to the discussion. It moves from re-imagining to replaying, renaissance to revolt. And you’re left wondering who
Audio, Video, Disco was ultimately made for, if not for simply Justice themselves. It’s more than just alienating, because we could accept that if
Cross’s pumped up exuberance was still there, bustling away merrily just under the surface. But this simply isn’t the case;
Cross was a success because Justice were prompt and swift in their capitalizing on the growing electro movement, crafting it in equally gruesome forms (‘Waters Of Nazareth’, ‘Genesis’) and also masterfully able to guide it to more friendly shores (the abominable ‘D.A.N.C.E.’). It was an album for the moment, comfortable in its many facets, and accessible on multiple levels.
Audio, Video, Disco is guarded in a sense, but it also isn’t protecting anything of value. It’s a horrible miscalculation on all fronts, a terrible vindication of the one hit wonder syndrome, it's Justice arriving for the wrong party.
