Justice Bring Their Signature Sound Into the Future on ‘HYPERDRAMA’

Justice keep a foot in the past while looking to new horizons on their fourth album, HYPERDRAMA.

By and large, Justice have overcome a challenge facing any act that remains in the game long enough to release more than a couple albums. After several months of promotion, the French duo have released their fourth studio-length album HYPERDRAMA, delivering fresh and forward-thinking material without straying too far from what first made them famous.

All the tried-and-true Justice hallmarks are there. Disco funk a la Chic meshes curiously with turn-of-the-millennium electroclash, all stitched together in movements more common to classical music than dance tracks. Evident throughout is a newfound creative maturity as well. It’s a subtle quality that only producers with two decades in the game could invoke.

The lead single, “Generator,” and “Afterimage” featuring Rimon both harken back to the Justice sound of old by pairing artful noise with simple yet memorable melodies. “Explorer” featuring Connan Mockasin even captures Baroque period inspirations similar to those the duo’s early tracks, made cutting edge thanks to novel sidechain compression.

The album also boasts a handful of big-name features. There are two with Tame Impala: one titled “One Night/All Night” that came out ahead of the full album release, and another called “Neverender” that lands as the first song on the album’s tracklist. For this writer’s money, “Mannequin Love” featuring The Flints is the strongest track on the album for how seamlessly its glossy hook seques into a crescendo of dissonant layers. Even Thundercat croons soulfully on “The End,” aptly titled as it concludes the 13-track effort in a theatrical fashion befitting all parties involved.

Make no mistake: strong as they are, these songs will not make the same impact as Justice’s celebrated early material. Busy P of Ed Banger Records compared this record to the duo’s debut effort — but frankly, another † HYPERDRAMA is not. Even the harsh noice of “Incognito” and Avant-Garde noodlings of “Dear Alan” are made more accessible by a shimmer of studio finesse, whereas timeless Justice tracks like “Genesis” and “Stress” arguably stood out by challenging commonly held aesthetics.

In fairness, though, Justice are different artists than they were 17 years ago. Xavier Rosnay and Gaspard Augé couldn’t make another † even if they wanted to, nor should they. Even if the 2007 album’s rough edges helped make it a success, that ought not preclude the two artists from refining and updating their creative process.

For the most part, HYPERDRAMA sees Justice successfully walk a tightrope separating their old ideas from their new ones, catering to longtime fans while exploring uncharted territory. It holds up on its own merit and the duo did not rest on their laurels while writing it. If anything, it will make longtime fans eager to hear what Justice might offer up next.

Most of the music comprising HYPERDRAMA made its live debut during Justice’s weekend one performance at Coachella, hailed by many as one of the best at this year’s edition of the festival. The duo are currently on the Mexican leg of a world tour that will also see them perform throughout Europe and North America throughout the remainder of 2024.

Listen to HYPERDRAMA by Justice on Spotify or your preferred platform, and follow the duo on social media to learn about additional tour dates as they get announced.

Stream Justice – HYPERDRAMA on Spotify:

Justice – HYPERDRAMA – Tracklist:

Neverender

Generator

Afterimage

One Night/All Night

Dear Alan

Incognito

Mannequin Love

Moonlight Rendez-Vous

Explorer

Muscle Memory

Harpy Dream

Saturnine

The End