A Cross the Universe [CD/DVD]

Performer: Justice (Jungle)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: It's a bold move to follow up a debut with a long live album, but since Justice's live show is a big part of this hot French electro-house duo's appeal, the gambit makes sense. A CROSS THE UNIVERSE captures a particularly madcap and energetic performance from San Francisco in March of 2008. Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay are no mere head-bobbing knob twiddlers onstage; tracks like the two-part "D.A.N.C.E." and the searing "Genesis" reveal how excitingly restless they can get. The popular club hits are diced and rejiggered so much that fans who've worn out their copies of CROSS (and the various singles/remixes) won't feel they've been sold a repackage. As on Daft Punk's live albums, crowd noise is high in the mix and constantly audible, successfully recreating the party atmosphere of the live show experience. Designed to perpetuate their image as arena metal rock stars of the electro age, Justice's second release, A Cross the Universe exposes the French duo's ability to whip a live audience to a frenzy by using a massive stack of Marshalls to amplify their laptops. The soundboard recording of their 2008 San Francisco performance, loaded with crowd noise, proves that you don't need a wealth of material, live instruments, or even microphones to put on an explosive show; just an uber-successful album with killer beats, a beast of a sound system, and a venue packed with people who like to D.A.N.C.E. Capitalizing on the critical and commercial acclaim of their debut Cross, Gaspard and Xavier's set is almost completely made up of material from their one and only 2007 outing. In fact, the only tracks left off the bill are "Newjack" and "Valentine." While this may sound like it's merely "Cross" with additional background screams, it's far from anything that conventional. Here, the pre-recorded sequences of fan favorites "DVNO," "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy," and "D.A.N.C.E." are born again; flipped and redecorated with aggressive house beats to the point that they feel fresh, but they still retain enough familiarity to get fists pumping and mouths singing along. Moods are brought to a peak as song parts build frenetically into strobe-like pulses then die down into relieving ballads. In the show's climax, "Stress" raises blood pressure until ultimately releasing into a slow swaying, lighter provoking power ballad remix of Simian's "Never Be Alone (We Are Your Friends.)" In an ensuing encore, two other remixes are unveiled; a chopped up Soulwax track, "NY Excuse," and "Justice X," a blistering mashup that blends "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy" with Metallica's "Master of Puppets." [The true draw of the package is the accompanying DVD, an hour long documentary that chronicles a three-week tour in the States. Live footage is included, but rather than focusing closely on the band as they perform on stage, the footage is edited in a hurried pacing that matches the shutter-speed stutter of their songs. While you never get a definite sense of what makes these cool kids in leather tick, or any real insight to their musical process, you do catch a backstage glance at their mysterious offstage personas. Bad boy debauchery and rock n' roll excess is the cornerstone of their existence, it seems -- one member breaks a bottle over an overzealous fan's head, and the other gets married in Vegas with a whisky bottle in hand, for starters -- but the most intriguing part of the viewing experience is just how huge and passionate their crowds have become in such a short span of time.] ~ Jason Lymangrover

Billboard (p.45) - "[H]earing a crowd go wild for a kick drum has to do the dance community proud." Mojo (Publisher) (p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay have been hailed as the new Daft Punk, but this double-pack suggest they're closer in spirit to Led Zeppelin." Clash (magazine) (p.103) - "One of the key players in electronic music's live renaissance, this is an impressive document of the duo's deserved reputation."

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