Woman’s journey starts with “Safe And Sound” which is the perfect fanfare for what lies ahead. Built upon a bedrock of slap bass workouts and glistening synthesizers, the sense of drama is ratcheted up by swirling Love Unlimited-styled disco strings. This journey catapults you from the elastic R&B pop of “Pleasure” straight into the rush of “Alakazam!”. Twirls through a dazzling bout of thumping electronic piano and clavinet sparring during “Fire”s dancefloor peacocking, barely pausing for breath before it lands at “Stop”—a sparkling, bittersweet slice of disco pop that boasts one of the best chorus the pair have ever had on a track. Featuring Audio, Video, Disco collaborator Morgan Phalen on vocals, “Randy” has a melody Michael McDonald would have killed a fellow Doobie Brother for (if Michael McDonald was into gut-shuddering electro that is). “Love S.O.S,” meanwhile, sounds like the greatest disco anthem you’ve never heard, striking the perfect balance of euphoria and heartache while a synth wails like a police siren throughout. It’s mirrored in a more live approach to recording. At least that’s what it initially sounds like. What you think is a live drum track turns out to be a heavily treated 808 and what sounds unmistakably like a theremin transpires to be a woman playing a musical saw. The songs themselves too are almost impossible to pin down. Coming halfway through the album, “Chorus” jolts the listener out of any concept of what the record is going to promise next.
The album’s artwork, featuring the iconic crucifix symbol, was created by Charlotte Delarue.
Labelled by The Observer as “era-defining” in their 5-star review of the album, Justice’s debut LP † was met with widespread acclaim and hit #1 on the U.S. Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Their 2011 follow up album Audio, Video, Disco saw Justice expand upon their distinctive sound by further incorporating their numerous contrasting musical influences. Justice have performed headline shows at festivals and arenas across the globe, as documented by their two live albums: 2008’s A Cross The Universe and 2013’s Access All Arenas.
Though known for their arena shows, this year Justice opted to perform unannounced shows at smaller, intimate venues in London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm and New York, tickets for which sold out within minutes.
Woman is out now on digital, CD and vinyl formats through Because Music / Ed Banger Records.