Well Bitchfork almost had me going there, with a 5,3 I initially thought the new Justice record might really be a dud. After listening to it I globally recognized what the reviewer was hearing and talking about and thought, allright. Makes sense.
Dumb, Dumber, I.
I wasn't impressed with their first record because it could have been a hell of a lot better. They were doing the rock/grunge/metal sound with electro and a sexy French twist, but weren't patient enough with every track as they were with Dance. Dance is perfect. The rest only at bits and pieces. The new record is not brilliant, it's not spectacular in any sense, but coming up with anything original and at the same time listenable has become something of a holy grail of 2011. After a few listens I DO think they pull it off. It's upbeat, quirky, transgenre, catchy, well rounded for the most part, and funny. For instance, at 3.25 they pull a prank on Parade by starting a fade out and then just randomly pull the volume back up again, just for kicks, I mean what else? The themes are, true, overall rock-ish but to compare this with prog is wrong. A proggy riff doesn't make a proggy band and if anything, it is the attempt to embody prog elements into blatant pop-electro that is commendable(!) and, works (.) relatively well. While their last single (audio, video, disco) takes the crown as the album's best, the remainder is no filler. In fact the only part of the entire record that works the nerves is the somewhat apologetic build up to the finale of Helix, as well as the finale itself. By then the sense of novelty bestowed upon the medieval vibe fuckmaking with the future vibe is pretty much worn out, and you can tell they're out of ideas. But then they put the crown on the head (fitting metaphor indeed, putting the single all the way back), and you accept that apology with a grin. French bastards.
But seriously, FUCK PITCHFORK. Every now and then it's allright to spit their way because if we don't, then we don't care about what they're saying. Actually nothing wrong with not giving a damn about critics, in fact, it's better than giving a damn about them. Me, I'm so far into it that it just has to go out, with a bang, or a dick. So I've made this little fuckp4k logo:
This could be a mistake on my part but I have a feeling they went with a bad review because Cross, the first Justice record, was huge in the US. This was a perfect opportunity to take a jab at a major, loved, original and respected group, and consolidate pitchfork as having better taste than you. Well for that, I fuck you.
