Audio, Video, Disco
by Justice
  • Record Label: Elektra
  • Release Date: Oct 24, 2011
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Oct 25, 2011
    91
    What Audio, Video, Disco does best is show off what a pair of good producers can really do-namely, simplifying technical musicianship into head-throbbing dance music.
  2. The Boston Phoenix
    Oct 25, 2011
    88
    Justice never lose sight of the big picture, aiming to blow your minds and sub-woofers with equal determination.
  3. Magnet
    Nov 21, 2011
    80
    This is dense and metallic and gorgeous. [#82, p.57]
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  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    Oct 31, 2011
    80
    Audio, Video, Disco's success is in its album-wide consistency, and a contemplative depth of sound that outshines the expectations of their disco-biscuit crowd.
  6. NOW Magazine
    Oct 27, 2011
    80
    Sure enough, this record brings to mind airbrushed vans flying through Day-Glo galaxies firing lasers at dragons, with no interest in any notions of good taste. Having said that, it fucking rocks.
  7. Billboard.com
    Oct 25, 2011
    80
    Mostly, though, the surprisingly warm-blooded Audio, Video, Disco reveals Justice to be human after all.
  8. No Ripcord
    Oct 25, 2011
    80
    Whilst it might not be the powerful, dark electro that some fans had been hoping for, there's no denying that the more matured Justice is pretty damn good.
  9. PopMatters
    Oct 25, 2011
    80
    Audio, Video, Disco may not sound like prog rock, but one thing is for sure: it is very much a progressive record. And it rocks.
  10. AllMusic
    Oct 24, 2011
    80
    Audio, Video, Disco might just be the quintessential example of pop music in the Internet world where everything is available, and available to shuffle, but the main point is good times, great record.
  11. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 24, 2011
    80
    Four years on and they have made a witty, hooky dance record in thrall to the rock operatics of Led Zeppelin and Queen.
  12. The Guardian
    Oct 20, 2011
    80
    There are at least four top pop songs on this collection and while they may not sound like the future any more, this group have definitely moved forward.
  13. BBC Music
    Oct 20, 2011
    80
    With Audio, Video, Disco, the duo has created their own realm and progressed into a formidable force.
  14. Clash Music
    Oct 20, 2011
    80
    Take both albums as separate entities and you'll be fine, and if alienation is the upshot, what a way to go about it.
  15. Consequence
    Oct 26, 2011
    70
    They've crafted a cohesive sophomore effort in a world that doesn't require cohesion, setting them apart from their many, many peers. That's admirable.
  16. Beats Per Minute
    Oct 26, 2011
    68
    It may not be as game-changing or complete as †, but Audio, Video, Disco has the exact same energy, intrigue, ear for melody and air of defiance as the group's glittering debut.
  17. Filter
    Oct 25, 2011
    68
    The result is perhaps less danceable, though a sound that is more recognizably their own.
  18. Los Angeles Times
    Oct 24, 2011
    63
    That push-pull creates a tension that makes Audio, Video, Disco feel like an exciting exercise on the way to something more developed but not a cohesive or particularly welcoming album.
  19. Mojo
    Dec 22, 2011
    60
    A bold step forward. [Nov 2011, p.98]
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  20. The Independent (UK)
    Nov 21, 2011
    60
    The second album from Franco-techno duo Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé is decidedly less pop-tabulous than their career highlights to date.
  21. Q Magazine
    Nov 8, 2011
    60
    It's not that Audio, Video, Disco isn't on several occasions, a blast; it's that it's a blast from the past.[Nov. 2011, p. 132]
    All this publication's reviews
  22. Under The Radar
    Oct 27, 2011
    60
    A game-changing debut like Cross is nearly impossible to follow up, but Audio, Video, Disco is about as self-assured as a second album gets.
  23. Resident Advisor
    Oct 27, 2011
    60
    Audio, Video, Disco may not be as clever and as original as Justice think it is, but it definitely isn't as terrible as everyone else would want you to believe.
  24. Uncut
    Oct 25, 2011
    60
    Like all the best of heavy metal, effortless dumb good fun. [Nov 2011, p.89]
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  25. Rolling Stone
    Oct 25, 2011
    60
    Audio, Video, Disco preserves the ginormo beats and synth bass of Justice's club jams while adding Seventies-style arena rock.
  26. Spin
    Oct 20, 2011
    60
    Audio, Video, Disco teeters on the edge of self-mockery, not an unfamiliar position for Justice.
  27. cokemachineglow
    Nov 10, 2011
    59
    Where † crafted sly treasures out of gaudy detritus, single-minded as it may have been, Audio, Video, Disco simply settles for canonizing the forgettable.
  28. Pitchfork
    Oct 25, 2011
    53
    They spent all their daring on concept, with little to spare for execution. Even for a duo as image-conscious and savvy as these guys, there is little style in their reduction.
  29. Paste Magazine
    Oct 28, 2011
    52
    While † threatened to alienate with its sheer abrasiveness, its long-awaited follow-up succeeds in boring with its sprawling and unfocused Queen-meets-Skrillex mashups.
  30. musicOMH.com
    Oct 25, 2011
    40
    It's admirable that they have made such a shameless ode to that which they deem most important to their musical output, or at least what they thought might sell, but the way in which it seems so forced and uncomfortable is the opposite of what anyone would have expected.
  31. Sputnikmusic
    Oct 20, 2011
    40
    Audio, Video, Disco has neither creativity nor moxie, except in the sense that Justice is damn determined to give homage to the worst excesses of macho rock posturing.
  32. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Oct 24, 2011
    30
    Audio, Video, Disco is simply too unfocused, too half-baked, and too busy hiding its inadequacies with superficially interesting window-dressing to fit in either of those settings--or any other.
  33. XLR8r
    Oct 24, 2011
    20
    It would appear that Justice's schtick on Audio, Video, Disco largely involved soullessly regurgitating the sounds of rock and roll's past into faux dance music.

Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Most Discussed Album of 2011
19
#19 Most Shared Album of 2011

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 77 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 77
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 77
  3. Negative: 4 out of 77
  1. Robswift
    Oct 24, 2011
    8
    When an album like this comes along, critics go insane because it is not what they expected, and they pan it because it isn't reminiscent ofWhen an album like this comes along, critics go insane because it is not what they expected, and they pan it because it isn't reminiscent of the artist's/group's previous album. Justice deserves the benefit of the doubt on this album: yes, it is different, but they are still tackling a focused idea - a synthesis of two genres (despite what Tiny Mix Tapes would like you to believe). Instead of tackling the extremely epic disco/dance sound again, they decided to go for a more alternative electro/rock style. Was the transition that bad? Any worse than Daft Punk's transition from Homework to Discovery? I don't think so, but, then again, I am not one of the published metacontrarians on this site.… Full Review »
  2. MooziikMaster
    Oct 24, 2011
    10
    Even though I usually like reviews from Tiny Mix Tapes, they are COMPLETELY wrong! This is one of the best albums of 2011! It combines rockEven though I usually like reviews from Tiny Mix Tapes, they are COMPLETELY wrong! This is one of the best albums of 2011! It combines rock and electronic music to an amazing extent. It fuses together great beats and awesome vocals to create an immaculate album. The best tracks are: "Civilization", "Ohio", "Canon", "Parade", "New Lands", and "Audio, Video, Disco". Get it now!!!… Full Review »
  3. hydrawithears
    Oct 28, 2011
    6
    It is very likely that two things will stay the same for Justice (Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay as their mums know them): theIt is very likely that two things will stay the same for Justice (Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay as their mums know them): the cross as their symbol and comparisons to Daft Punk, another French gods of house music. Canon of their latest album Audio, Video, Disco. (or I Hear, I See, I Learn) could be easily mistaken for Daft Punkâ… Full Review »
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