There are few albums that leave me flabbergasted from the first few bars - but I can confidently say this was one of them. I put the needle in the leading groove with a certain naivety - having never heard of Justice before, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. From the first track I was hooked, surprised, and in love with 'Cross'.
The album cover and disc reveal little of what lies in the dark grooves - a gold cross atop a black background are the only clues you have, but from the moment the first beat kicks in on the aptly named opening track 'Genesis', you are in no doubt - this is French house of quality not seen since Daft Punk.
The biblical theme evident in the album title and iconography is prevalent in the song titles, too - from Genesis, Let There Be Light, to Waters of Nazareth. But that's not what this album is about - it's about the archetypal compressed beats, perfectly executed with funky basslines and quirky organ synths.
From the second side (or the third track to you digital folk), the album loses some of the pomp from the brooding opening and opens up to the wonderfully upbeat D.A.N.C.E., with disco-esque strings supplemented with a mashed-up lyric sung by a children's choir. Currently available as a single, it's arguably not the most chart-friendly track, but remarkable nonetheless.
Newjack follows the upbeat nature of D.A.N.C.E. with a healthy dose of filtered samples from the soundtrack to Tenebrae, and has a grittier, noisier groove to it - and leads on to Phantom seamlessly - the album has obviously been carefully crafted as a whole, rather than some set of disparate tracks.
The third side (Track 8) sees the return of a vocal, provided by indie-electronica musician Uffie. The track in question, Tthhee Ppaarrttyy is cute, and one of the more memorable tracks as a result - despite slightly banal lyrics.
The final side starts with the dirty distortions of Stress, which brings to mind the disco stylings of David Shire's Night on Disco Mountain, later opening out into a chunky sample-laced floor filler. The ultra-distorted synth lines continue into Justice's first single, Waters of Nazareth. The last track, On Minute To Midnight, rounds things off nicely with an almost end-credits feel to it (albeit with the same hyper compressed beats and funky synths).
And then - nothing. That's it, show's over, end of the album. But what an album - Cross is most certainly a keeper. I may not have heard of Justice prior to my first listen, but now I'm certainly a believer.
What next?More by Justice? More reviews? More electro, or house?