Review Summary: Lots of great groves and hooks in one of the years best dance albums.
Justice are a relatively new duo from France, this being their debut CD. This doesn't sound like a debut CD however, because it is executed very well with good pacing and variety that will appeal to a broad range of listeners. I can attest to this, since I am not a very big electronic fan, especially not electro/house (look at my other reviews, none are electronic reviews). Aside from DJ Tiesto, Darude, DJ Quicksilver, and Basshunter I listen to very little music that could be likened to Justice, but thanks to Jono, who also reviewed it, I bought this cd and enjoyed it a lot.
The best part of Justice is their use of extremely catchy grooves, especially the really catchy bass lines typical of house. Those not familiar with the genre should note that there is an immense funk influence, with many syncopated and (synthesized) slapped bass lines. There are also lots of catchy melodic hooks, especially D.A.N.C.E., which is probably the best track to listen to to get into this album if you're a lighter pop fan. I'd recommend just starting at Genesis for fans of harder music. The hooks are sometimes a little annoying for me, like the vocals on The Party, one of the few songs where the vocals detract from the song quite a bit.
Influences to be heard are a wide variety. Several artists are cited in the booklet, even Slipknot (don't worry, I hear zero Sliknot influence), but the obvious influence would have to be Daft Punk and 80s music like Michael Jackson that was lighter than house but still had the essential feel of black music at the time. When you blend the lighter sides of influence with the harder sides you get an amazing blend on this album. Instrumentation never lets down. The drums are nicely sampled, and the keyboard sounds range from a variety of bass sounds to higher sounds like strings and fat high end synth sounds (typically the kind that would be cosine or sine waves in a sim synth for those who use fruity loops).
The only short coming of this album for me is the constant energy of the album. On one hand it is good that the songs have a high energy level and the same tempo throughout the cd, but on the other hand I would like to hear the music build up more and have some more work with dynamics on this cd. Perhaps fading into a new melody or song with a filter effect on a synth or something along those lines would create a nice build up (tension) to the upcoming melody (the release). Tension and release are two essential elements of music and I feel there isn't quite enough in the music here, but the fact that all instruments have unique and interesting parts that catch your attention help keep this problem in the back of ones mind.
Pros
-Great dance music
-Grooves galore
-Excellent choice of sounds
-Catchy songwriting
Cons
-Dynamics are lacking
-Some annoying vocal parts
4/5
*11/04/07*
