In the French electro galaxy, Justice’s first album (Cross, 2007) marked a milestone, some even say a generation. Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé didn’t spring from techno, which they discovered late, but started off making their own marriage of guitars and electronic sounds, in the style of Daft Punk and Soulwax, adding a dose of saturated sound and pop melodies. Unlike minimalist German techno, Justice holds up a “maximal” banner, as Laurent Garnier calls it, entering into the same ranks as Boys Noize, Mr Oizo and Erol Alkan.

Civilization Justice (Ed Banger Records) 2011 Listen

Musically, Justice is "uninhibited", according to the two Parisians themselves. From their first album to their improbable mix for the club Fabric (which reels off Rondo Veneziano and Daniel Balavoine), they dare to defend their versatile tastes, which swing from mega-known hits to marginal tracks. Both pop and rock inspire the twosome, especially Metallica and Nirvana.

Rural disk

For this second collection, the duo explained that they were after a “rural, diurnal disk”, as opposed to urban music for dancing. Gaspard and Xavier did it all themselves, without any samples to help them, taking on the guitars and the drums, and even singing. As a result, Audio, Video, Disco has a more pop feel than Cross, including proper songs written by the musical pair.

The album’s pompous introduction (Horsepower) sets it off to a bad start, like a seventies TV series with swathes of rolling drums and a simplistic melody. Yet Justice’s familiar throbbing sound is immediately recognisable. The second track, Civilization, is akin to the electro-pop produced by another well-known French duo, Housse de Racket, before the ethereal voice of Vincent Vendetta (from Midnight Juggernauts) carries it into Californian folk, something like Bill Crosby’s Ohio. Two-thirds of the way through this slow track, a filtered electric guitar comes in to boost the tempo, and then settles down in its quarters to remain omnipresent in the album. Then follows an astonishing medieval interlude of guitar work, before moving on to Canon, which superimposes the same melodic thread and hangs on to the tampered guitar base.  

Melancholy

© DR Justice on MySpace

With its swirling guitars and vocal samples, Helix brings groove and rock together in a Daft Punk-type blend, turning out a danceable number. The final explosion comes with the bouncy Audio, Video, Disco, grandiose and sinuous, dominated by keyboards and unrelenting drums.

All in all, this second album makes its way through progressive rock, hard rock and electro, ingrained with a melancholic edge as yet unseen in the duo. Like Trevor Horn (The Buggles, Yes), Justice dream of fusing folk music with the avant-garde.

Although their ambition is to be rock stars, the twosome admit that they aren’t musically gifted and are obliged to use electronics to obtain the effects they’re after. Their nostalgic musical syncretism, which leans towards kitsch at times, can be unnerving, especially for fans of electronic music. But no one could accuse them of remaining static.

Justice Audio, Video, Disco (Ed Banger/Because Music) 2011