Woman

by Justice

Overview

Stylish nostalgia is the pan et beurre of a lot of French dance music, including -- for better and worse -- Justice's third album. Arriving five years after Audio, Video, Disco, Woman is built on layers of fondly remembered vintage funk and disco, pre-EDM French Touch, and Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay's own work. The duo lead with the most broadly appealing side of their music: with its choral vocals and popping bass, "Safe and Sound" sounds like a slowed-down version of "D.A.N.C.E." with a hint of roller disco, while the gleaming synths and chugging rhythms of "Alakazam!" and "Fire" keep going like perpetual-motion party machines. Individually, these tracks are a lot of fun, but taken together, they give the impression that the pop whimsy and prog metal tangents of Cross and Audio, Video, Disco are strengths Justice preferred to leave in the past. Just when it seems Woman is consistent to a fault, Auge and de Rosnay bring some of that weirdness back to their music without derailing their grooves. The luxe vocals on the aptly named "Chorus" lend some oddball '70s sci-fi majesty to its gritty beat (and the final track, "Close Call," adds to the impression that Woman is secretly the soundtrack to a space fantasia). Meanwhile, "Heavy Metal"'s frantic counterpoint has as much in common with Audio, Video, Disco's metal fixations as it does with kitschy classical pop. "Randy," which features vocals from longtime contributor Morgan Phalen, blends chugging guitars and strings courtesy of the London Contemporary Orchestra into one of the album's finest examples of genre-mashing; similarly, the breezy "Love S.O.S." proves the duo's range remains. Even if Woman sometimes sounds more like two EPs than a cohesive set of songs, it's still an enjoyable album -- especially when Justice use their flair for looking back creatively. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	08/07/2018
Label:	Because Music / Virgin
UPC:	5060421566214

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Justice   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Charlotte Bonneton   Choir/Chorus,Violin
Jeremy Isaac   Violin
Anna Jean   Vocals
London Contemporary Orchestra   Brass,Vocals,Strings,Vocals (Background)
Mira Benjamin   Choir/Chorus
Daniel Llewellyn Roberts   Violin
Daniel Pioro   Violin
Galya Bisengalieva   Violin,Choir/Chorus
Hugh Brunt   Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
Charis Jenson   Violin
Phillippa Slack   French Horn,Choir/Chorus
Ryan Hume   Choir/Chorus
So Me   Vocals (Background)
Mara Carlyle   Vocals,Choir/Chorus
Hannah Dawson   Violin,Choir/Chorus
Rebecca Jones   Viola,Vocals
Romuald   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Robert Ames   Conductor,Choir/Chorus
Mehdi Pinson   Vocals (Background)
Stephanie Edmundson   Viola
Guy Button   Violin,Choir/Chorus
Anna de Bruin   Violin
Eloisa-Fleur Thom   Violin
Laura Virtanen   Violin
Debs White   Violin,Choir/Chorus
Alexander Ruisi   Violin
Johnny Blake   Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Daisy Chute   Orchestra,Choir/Chorus
Morgan Phalen   Vocals,Featured Artist
Max Baillie   Choir/Chorus
Katie Pryce   French Horn,Choir/Chorus
Matthew Kettle   Viola,Vocals
Antoine Hilaire   Vocals (Background)
Guillaume De Maria   Vocals (Background)
Joseph Arnold   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Maxime Le Guil   Mixing
Jonas Persson   Vocal Engineer
Richard Woodcraft   Engineer
Gaspard Auge   Composer
Justice   Mixing,Producer
Irfane   Consultant
Mara Carlyle   Musician
Romuald   Producer
Guy Button   Copyist
Ross Matthews   Engineer
Romuald Lauverjon   Composer
Debs White   Copyist
May Yamani   Composer,Lyricist
Johnny Blake   Composer,Lyricist
Benjamin Weber   Vocal Engineer
Alex Ridha   Tuning
Xavier De Rosnay   Composer
Charlotte Delarue   Artwork,Cover Image
Daisy Chute   Copyist
Philippe Zdar   Vocal Engineer
Morgan Phalen   Composer
Antoine Hilaire   Vocal Engineer
James Blake   Composer
Charlotte Bonneton   Copyist