Album Review: Justice, Woman Worldwide

I have a soft spot for French duo Justice. In 2007, they released Cross – one the best electro albums of the 21st century (which they followed up with two solid if less formidable LPs). However, even if the band occupy a place in one’s heart, it’s still hard to find a good rationale for this release.
Woman Worldwide features revised studio versions of old Justice tracks, inspired by the band’s changes to the songs in adapting them for their live setlist. On paper, this sounds like an interesting experiment. After all, Justice’s prowess as performers has been widely praised. Not long after their first two albums came two live records – which fared better critically than their studio equivalents.
There are a handful of notable changes in these new versions. Single ‘Randy’ has mutated from classic pop into an aggressive industrial banger, and the blend of dance tunes ‘Safe And Sound’ and ‘D.A.N.C.E’ will surely get you pumped for a night at the club. However, the supposedly ‘new’ takes on songs like ‘Genesis’, ‘Stop’ and ‘Waters Of Nazareth’ don’t differ enough from the originals to justify the investment.
Also, removing the flaws of live performance – including crowd noise and distortion – while retaining the onstage structure of these songs strips the album of an organic power. Because these arrangements were designed to married to the energy of a full audience, something seems to be missing. Like Gus Van Sant’s Psycho remake, the end results here are mostly far less enjoyable than the originals.

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