Crack

4/20

You got the feeling this one was going to be a lemon, but we were a little surprised at the level of citrus on display in the return of Ed Banger’s sacred sons, Justice.

It’s no exaggeration to say that during the 2006-2008 period, they reinvented the dance music wheel. Their at times abrasive, at times poptastic, broken electro-distortion was fresh, varied and won them a legion of fans from many musical walks. On debut album Cross, single material was juxtaposed with the real sound of Justice. Phantom Part II, Waters of Nazareth and the truly awesome Stress were fist-clenching, gritty slices of distorted dance-floor destruction. The arena-sized shows and adulation followed, as did the problem facing all acts that go supernova quickly: Where the fuck do you go next? In this case Justice they’ve taken the wrong road.

On new record, Audio, Video, Disco, they’ve minimised the dancefloor potential with a series of drab, half-catchy and unmemorable pop tracks. The instrumentals carry no punch and could soundtrack a film at best. It’s like someone cut their balls off, and from an act that looked so hot when upping the ante, this is a colossal disappointment.



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Words: Hulio Bourgeois

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