Gaspard and Xavier, the guys themselves. Image taken from kweb.be without permission. If I am violating any copyright laws in the United States or France by hosting this image on my blog, which I don't get paid for, please let me know and I'll take it down posthaste.Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Justice. This album in particular is only their second, but I've listened to their first numerous times and can assure all of my readers (how many of you are left, anyway?) that it is filled with hard rock/electro house goodness.
If you're a fan too, then I guess you should know that this album doesn't really have any new releases; just remixes of songs they've already put out (and of songs that other groups have done, as well). What makes up for that is that A Cross the Universe is live: that's right; everything they're doing on this CD is all done with their absurd equipment set. If anybody had any doubts about Justice's ability to pull off a live show, put them to rest now because this show rocks.
Let me start off by saying that if anybody was instantly turned off when they saw the above techno labels, I think you'll be pleasantly suprised if you decide to give either this album or their debut a listen. It's hard to describe exactly what Justice sounds like in words. They're definitely a techno group, but they're not annoying, repetitive, or overly synthy. The closest I can come to their sound is some sort of odd cross between metal, funk, and house. Very energetic, explosive, and grating (in a good way, somehow), and probably like nothing most of my readers have ever heard before.
That said, A Cross the Universe makes all their old stuff seem tame in comparison. This is Justice unleashed, mashing together tracks and then ripping them to pieces with some sort of musical chainsaw. Your speakers (and eardrums) will be given the workout of a lifetime, but it's all so worth it just to hear what new element they're going to throw into the mix next.
What's particularly great about this recording is that, being live, there's an audience, and Justice is excellent at working the crowd. The entire first track, "Intro," is a 38-second recording of the audience cheering when (presumably) Gaspard and Xavier step on-stage, followed by a remix of "Genesis," my personal favorite song of theirs. Throughout the song, the noise of the crowd gradually fades away, until a sample of "Phantom," a crowd favorite, is subtly slipped in midway through, and suddenly the audience goes nuts again. There are too many moments like this to count throughout the album as the crowd recognizes each new song, and Justice is good enough at weaving them all together that I nearly caught myself cheering a few times.
Somehow, they've even managed to turn songs I didn't like at all into more-than-danceable mixes. "TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY," a collaboration with annoying label-mate Uffie, used to be the song I always skipped over when I was still obsessively listening to Justice's first outing. The remix on this CD, though, is a hard-driving, metal-style mix that makes even Uffie's wanna-be rapper lyrics bearable.
What it boils down to is this: if you're a fan of Justice, you'll love A Cross the Universe. If you're not a fan of Justice, start off with † and then give A Cross the Universe a try if you liked it. (If your musical tastes are anything like mine, though, I'm assuming you'll like it a lot.)
The Rundown
I can't actually think of categories for this, so I'm just gonna give it a blanket 10/10. Justice is an awesome group that needs more recognition, and hopefully you guys can give it to them.
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