Forget the fact that Justice’s 2007 dance album † grinded harder than most metal, and that this follow-up rock record is more cleanly produced than anything else in 2011. How about the mere movement of it, the lack of numbing repetition, the shifting tonal structures … and the fact it’s played on actual guitars? The French duo’s breakthrough single “D.A.N.C.E.” was a loving tribute to Michael Jackson. On Audio, Video, Disco, they nail John Bonham’s stomp in “Canon” and split the difference between Black Sabbath and Brian Eno in “Civilization.” Sucked-straw guitars filter every which way, synths clang just as hard, and the words don’t mean a damn thing. Best of all, Justice abjure prog’s most frustrating time-signature predilections by drilling their wide-ranging pleasures to a tempered and danceable 4/4. — Dan Weiss
This article appears in Nov 2-8, 2011.
