Album Review: Cross

By Nicolaj Arroyo

Arts & Entertainment Editor

November 2021

“Cross” is the debut album of French electronic duo, Justice, made up of Xavier de Rosnay Dulong and Gaspard Michel Augé.

Let’s start with a bit of history:

Debuting officially (after an unofficial start as Justice on the compilation album “Hits Up To You!”) in 2003 with their remix of the Simian song, “Never Be Alone” titled “We Are Your Friends,” they entered into a remixing contest, and lost.

Despite their loss, they caught the attention of one Pedro Winter, founder of Ed Banger Records, (a label that would go on to help solidify and popularize the Bloghouse sound of the mid-to-late 2000s).

After hearing “We Are Your Friends,” Pedro Winter immediately signed Justice to the label. They have gone on to be one of the most successful and notable artists on the label to date.

The album was made between 2004-2007, in a nightclub basement.

In an interview with Dummy Magazine in 2007, Justice says they “worked for 350 days on the album and after doing some quick maths concluded that they had smoked over 30,000 cigarettes and drank 25,000 espressos[sic] in that time.”

What’s with the Christian imagery?

The meaning of the cross is something that Justice has explained many times, and each time, they give a different explanation.

Sometimes they say it is meant to symbolize the similarity between a church and a dance floor, how people come together and sing and shout in praise. Sometimes they say it’s purely aesthetic. Sometimes they respond with a “God only knows.” Ultimately, they say it is up to the listeners’ interpretation, what it means to them.

In the same 2007 interview with Dummy Magazine, Xavier De Rosnay said: “eighty percent of France is Christian. My Dad was a bit uncertain and thought it was[sic] bad taste, but I was like, This is what I want to do Dad. It’s odd because in America we have received support from Christian groups thanking us for spreading the word. We do not invert the cross, and I suppose they think we look like nice guys, so there has not been a problem.”

Music Videos:

Justice’s most popular, influential and notable music video to date is the music video for “D.A.N.C.E”, directed by close friend of Justice, Bertrand Lagros de Langeron, otherwise known as So-Me.

The distinctive art style, and use of motion tracking over real life footage was something that influenced music videos, fashion, and commercials moving forward in the late 2000s.

So-Me was asked to direct the music video for Kanye West’s “Good Life”, despite the beef between Justice and Kanye West, following the 2006 MTV Europe awards, where Kanye made a scene on stage about Justice winning the award instead of him.

Critical reception:

The singles released prior to the album, most notably “Waters of Nazareth” in 2005 , were unpopular in the club scene at the time due to the rough, grating sounds and confusing rhythm.

Eventually, however, as Bloghouse became a popular subculture of music, “Waters of Nazareth” was given more of a fighting chance, and became a favorite among fans.

Justice’ debut album, “Cross” was released in 2007, to critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic Album.

This was followed by a film in 2008 documenting their experiences on tour in America, called “A Cross The Universe”, directed by fellow graphic designers So-Me and Romain Gavras (dir. M.I.A - Bad Girls, La Caution - Thé à la Menthe/The Laser Dance).

Track By Track:

Genesis-

Bombastic opening song, that turns more dance floor-friendly later on in the track.

Phantom-

Middle child of Genesis and One Minute to Midnight. One of my favorite songs on the album.

One Minute To Midnight-

Smoother closing track, same key as Genesis, more glitchy sounding.

D.A.N.C.E-

Michael Jackson tribute song, lighthearted and catchy, child choir vocals and funk-inspired bassline.

Valentine-

Floaty intermission-sounding song. Heavy on the harpsichord and distortion, but not in a way that is grating on the listener’s ears.

Newjack-

Precursor to Future Funk, sample-heavy and features a funk bassline, similar to other French electronic music of the era and before.

TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY-

Features Bloghouse and Crunkcore darling, Uffie. Minimalistic track, focusing on Uffie’s vocals, danceable beat and further instrumentation coming later incrementally as not to take attention away from Uffie’s vocals.

DVNO-

Features a vocalist of the same name. DVNO is a song about being super cool and how everyone at the club loves you and wants you.

Phantom Pt. 2-

What it says on the tin: a continuation of Phantom. This song, however, is much more dance floor/live oriented. Melody is easier to understand, bass is heavy. Good stuff !

Stress-

Yeah, it sure is. This song gave Justice headaches while making it. It definitely elicits anxiety in listeners hearing it for the first time. The accompanying music video is quite upsetting, but fits the song well.

Waters of Nazareth-

Distortion-heavy and hard-hitting, with an organ solo in the middle. An acquired taste, but if it piques your appetite, it really is a treat. My favorite song on the album.

Let There Be Light-

Second song on the album, sets the expectations for listeners of how grating the sounds on the record can be.