Justice - †
Ed Banger Recordings (2007)

Let me open by saying that I don’t think it is possible to write about this album without thinking about Daft Punk. Apart from the superficial coincidences – hey, they’re French, and, like, wow!, they’re a duo like Daft Punk! – the music is more than coincidentally similar too. The amount of blog coverage given to these guys in the last year is exceptional, though so too were their first singles – “Waters of Nazareth”, “Phantom” and “D.A.N.C.E” – which all appear on †. With these tracks, Justice seemed to throw out the traditional House music 4/4 song structures. However, the album reveals that this is not the case. “New Jack”, “Valentine” and “One Minute to Midnight” are eerily similar to the Daft Punk tracks “High Life”, “Digital Emotion” and “Television Rules The Nation” – not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the tracks are peppered with the characteristic Justice distorto-crunch, pioneered on “Waters of Nazareth”, which makes the whole album sound as if were designed for people who have blown their tweeters from repeatedly listening to Discovery. While “The Party”, featuring vocals from electro-house hipster Uffie (think Lily Allen meets Paris Hilton), is mildly nauseating, the remainder of the album is solid though slightly predictable. † might not live up the tsunami of hype that preceded it’s release, but it is nevertheless one of the most important dance records of the year, and is worth a listen for that reason alone.

Ed Muzik – www.cancerwatch.wordpress.com