Audio, Video, Disco Review

lot has happened to me musically since 2007 when Justice's first album, †, was released. For one, I didn't listen to Justice. I didn't listen to much of anything to be honest outside of hip-hop and R&B. In 2009 I was introduced to Daft Punk and later on, Justice. House quickly became one of my favorite genres and † set the bar for what I was looking for in all electronic music. Two years later, Justice has finally released their sophomore record, Audio, Video, Disco and this is my review.

The album starts with a track called "Horsepower." As it's name suggests, this piece gets the album going strong. It hits you with the dirty sound you've come to love and expect from Justice and lifts the spirits for this album to be more of the same from this group. In some cases, that would be a bad thing. However, when it comes to Justice, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has just been craving more from them. The next track is the first single from AVD entitled "Civilization." Justice introduces some vocals this time but the formula is still pretty much the same. By the time you get into "Ohio" you kinda get the sense that this is a more watered down version of Justice. If this is your first time getting into House music or just this band, you might find this easier to attach to. Of course, I'm always an advocate of diving right into a group's best or first so I'd still recommend †. I have to admit though, I love "Canon." It reminds me of Human After All era Daft Punk the way it repeats the same riffs over and over until you care about them.

By the time "On'n'On" finished, I realized how much I prefer the vocals on †. The childlike sounds of "D.A.N.C.E." and whatever you wanna call Uffie in "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy" have been replaced with the airy, high-pitched male vocals that are so popular these days. "Parade" starts with some strong base but never really goes anywhere. It'll certainly attract the dance fans though. By "Newlands," I was thinking to myself "hey, this is really different?" I didn't even realize it but the direction on AVD is just completely different. It sounds a little more rock-influenced. Pitchfork claims it's prog-rock influenced and I guess I can hear it but I didn't pick that up for myself. They get paid for this shit though, right? I'm doin' this for the love of you people. Anyway, back on topic. "Helix" is kinda what I expected this whole album to sound like. It's still more conventional dance music but it has a Justice tinge. I dig it, and that's as good of a compliment it'll get. AVD finishes with a title track. This was also released as a single so anyone who cares has probably already formed opinions about it. I prefer closing tracks to be a surprise when I first listen to an album but hey, who cares what I want? I'm just a potential customer. My opinions on this song pretty much summarize the whole project. I like it, I don't love it. Will I listen to it again? Definitely. If Justice wants to tour around here I'll definitely try to get into the show. To be honest, I expected to be disappointed but I'm really not. Audio, Video, Disco is a solid album and it shows Justice isn't just some fad who made some mediocre music that crowds attached to. They're serious and I'm fully expecting to be impressed by whatever they release next.

I'm giving Audio, Video, Disco a 1985 White Lamborghini Countach. Just one of 'em though. Chyeah!