A Cross The Universe

Justice “A Cross the Universe”: Live album of reworked music from Parisian electronic house duo. Music can be a bit abrasive and grating at times (their synth can sound like a toad that was run over by a car in the middle of a bellowing croak), but when they add some pop elements and composition, the energy is hard to beat. The album was recorded at a concert in San Francisco, California at the Concourse Exhibition Center, on March 27, 2008. It accompanies a documentary film that from what I can tell emphasizes the animalistic nature of their fans at live shows and follows Gaspard and Xavier’s crazy antics. Sound quality is not that great (indeed kind of bootleggy) but if you love Justice, crank the monitor volume up and hold your cross necklace up to the sky. Start with 13, 2 7, 12, 15 (heads up, it’s long)
No FCCs detected basil baileyr@stanford.edu


1) 39 secs of crowd cheering
2) ** Slow intro of clapping and anticipation,waiting for Justice to take the stage; slow grinding synth (2mins worth) jumps into huge bumping single!
3) choppy mash of gritty synth, transitions w/o break into next song
4) *no fade in, starts abruptly where last song let off; gritty like the last but turns sparkly and beepy halfway through w/ improvised “D.A.N.C.E.” voice clips
5) “D.A.N.C.E. pt 1” : slower than the original tune but chorus remains insanely catchy
6) “D.A.N.C.E. pt 2”: wavering, spastic version; picks up the pace from the previous song
7) **Crowd goes wild for this dance tune; play this in the club & bust out the strobe light
8) soulless grit and noise; not much character or crowd interaction in this one
9) another raver; stuttering vocal clips, grinding synth
10)**raging song w/ female vox & lively crowd interaction
11) pretty abrasive and choppy; “disco! Disco!!”
12) **intro is unlike anything else on the album; string heavy & daunting like a horror film; great build, crowd loves it; turns aggressive & jerky at points but it’s complex composition is sustained in the big arena; turns into “We Are Friends” w/ 1 min left
13) ***serious crowd participation & energy; this song is why they made a live album
14) abrupt start; seems to me like its just a continuation from last song w/ a new name
15) **smash ya head! No vox, lots of grinding, thiek beats; some great peppy synth
16) *minute long taste of “We are your friends”; great filler
17) * beeps & female scolding sound clips; not quite a hit song, not quite mundane...
18) metallica-esque heavy metal grinding; 3 mins long; crowd gets at it