Incongruous mash-ups, like the disco vamps and grueling techno of their 2007 single “Stress,” have been part and parcel of Justice’s music from the beginning, but on Hyperdrama, digital/analog hybrids—like Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, or, indeed, a gleaming, futuristic vape pen—assume subtler forms. In “Generator,” the duo offsets the apocalyptic “Mentasm” stabs and pumping piano-house chords with sprightly disco bass, as though flickering between Fantazia and Studio 54. It’s a novel juxtaposition, and skillfully executed, though something about its “Hey! You got chocolate in my peanut butter!” setup feels slightly too clever, better suited for a creative director’s mood board than the messiness of an actual dancefloor.
“Afterimage” performs a similar bait-and-switch, balancing doomy techno synths with the breathy rapture of guest singer Rimon’s ecstatic sighs, but the contrast isn’t quite provocative enough to save the song’s expression of bliss from sounding generic. It doesn’t help that most of the guest singers Justice employ here—Parker, Rimon, Miguel, Thundercat, and Manchester electro-pop duo the Flints—opt for a similar falsetto range, making them all sound interchangeable. The clash of the totems is more interesting on “Moonlight Rendez-Vous,” a two-minute sketch that poses an unusual thought experiment: What if Wham!’s “Careless Whisper” had been recorded in the style of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack?
The album’s best tracks are the most audacious: the unbridled joy of “Dear Alan,” a veritable fireworks display of pinwheeling arps and halo effects; the over-the-top prog-disco fusion of “Incognito,” which builds to a distorted climax reminiscent of Justice’s rebellious early hijinks, now rendered in state-of-the-art hi-def. But too much of it is simply too smooth—ploddingly mid-tempo, curiously risk averse. Nine songs into a 13-track run, “Explorer” bogs down in a morass of Phantom of the Opera synths; “Muscle Memory,” which follows, could have been a chance to show off their analog chops, but instead it feels like a Stranger Things retread—a synthwave set piece that’s been done many times before.
Justice don’t call their guest performers features; instead, the singers are credited with “starring” roles. A minor detail, perhaps, but one that speaks to the duo’s aims. Like Daft Punk, they’ve always understood the power of a strong visual, and those “starring” credits suggest they’re thinking of Hyperdrama in terms of spectacle—if not a movie, then a headlining festival slot. At Coachella this month, the duo stood stock still and let their light show do most of the work, while the disembodied voice of Kevin Parker looped into a crescendoing approximation of the kind of techno that’s only fleetingly audible within Hyperdrama’s carefully tended grounds.
