Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ammar Kalia

Justice: Hyperdrama review – an uncertain return to the dancefloor

Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé of Justice.
Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé of Justice. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

With their self-titled 2007 debut, French production duo Justice – Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay – established themselves as promising Daft Punk successors. Combining arena-sized drum tracks with squealing guitars and a thundering dancefloor pulse, they delivered gargantuan melodic hooks with gut-thumping force. Yet subsequent releases have struggled to elicit the same sense of vitality. Audio, Video, Disco, from 2011, veered into the complicated world of prog, while 2016’s Woman attempted a disco-pop crossover; neither was fully convincing. On their latest album, Justice attempt a return to their club-oriented roots.

Across 13 tracks, the pair find their strengths in the heavier end of the musical spectrum. Generator shudders through raw synths and techno kick-drums, providing an apt soundtrack for a postapocalyptic dancefloor, while the tonal switches on Incognito are delightfully unpredictable, shifting from disco bass to cavernous melody. On softer moments, though, they’re on less steady ground. One Night/All Night drowns out guest vocalist Kevin Parker’s falsetto with a plodding backing, while Saturnine grates in its interplay of chopped guitar lines and high-pitch vocals. Justice are still capable of raw-edged excitement, but on Hyperdrama they find themselves too polished and bright.

Listen to Incognito by Justice.
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.