Justice Vs. Simian Mobile Disco

When both albums came out on the same day, there was inevitably going to be comparison between the two 2007 offerings from these errant Dance/rock crossover acts, and in truth early on it looked like a bad day for Simian.

First of all there was the simple street cred issue.

Justice were two quiet Parisians, Dance through and through, delivering dark and dirty sounds more in keeping with the HM industry. Their single "D.A.N.C.E." is irresistable too. Real classic pop but with a delicious post-modern fractured sound. But their record leads further into dark recesses, very deep sounds and yes, pretty impressive music for a couple of Dance guys.

Simian, on the other hand, with their obvious vocal lines, seemed to pale by comparison.

In fact, at first listen, it seemed true what was said in Plan B (for a change), that Simian had only piggybacked from Rock to dance off the back of a Justice mix, and came over like awkward interlopers at some orgy (to paraphrase Leonard Cohen). Well, perhaps that wasn't quite what Plan B said, but something of that ilk, and for the first week or two it seemed true. Didn't even feel like listening further. Simian quite dull, crude, obvious. Justice dark and mysterious, interesting and quixotic.

Well, it happened that one day I was driving along the M25 and the traffic stopped. For readers outside the South East corner of the UK, this is not a particularly uncommon event, but one which affords a real close listen of an album. And, as it turns out, if you listen a) 'through' the vocal tracks (i.e. try ignoring them for 40 minutes) and b) at high volume, the Simian album shines through as a Kraftwerkian masterpiece.

Tracks vary from club ironics to straightline electronic pop. Even, toward the end of the record, some full-blown Warp-style electronica.

In fact, if you can stomach or even, after a while get used to the vocal tracks, this record could be a real find for Warp fans, even if a little high tempo, as there are touches of genius in the mix.

And the synth sounds are more varied than Justice.

Far more top-end sounds, less squelching generally and some lovely tones, discovered or made I don't know but deployed in a delicious stew of hard-hitting but very rerwarding and melodic electronic dance.

As for Justice... well the repeated playings I'd given the thing in that time began to undermine the pleasure. In fact Justice started to sound like a 70's concept album from a cross between Magma, Magnum and Donna Summer (God, this is harsh... I must be overstating, mustn't I?).

Reading reviews around the magazine industry I have come to this conclusion:- the Rock music press just don't 'get' Simian. Reviews in all the non-Dance mags were lukewarm and seemed to me overinfluenced by the obvious vocal tracks. Only the Dance press really 'got' the thing, with IDJ giving a dance album of the summer nomination, not bad for an album that came second on day one.

But what of Justice?

Okay, here's a 'track by track' for Justice - "Cross" (no comment on the title, except it is not a cross so much as a footnote).

1. Genesis - portentous synths, like the intro to some prog opera.

2. Let there be light - it's really turning into a concept album - all you hear is growling synnth basslines with not much else. Brooding, like erm... you know... flames licking up the mountain etc etc Think Rock Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, or ELP's Brain Salad Surgery!!

3. (Do the) D.A.N.C.E. - fantastic kids' sing-song leads into a classic dance keyboard melody, with chanting and a decent rhythm. The production seems deliberately flawed, with the stitches showing everywhere. Cheerful stuff though, with lots of nostalgic piano and just a little (even more nostalgic) Genesis-sounding Mellotron right at the end (there is a Genesis theme developing here).

4. NewJack - fragmented with bubbling submerged sections mixing in with above the floor rhythms.... ends up being burbling trivia.

5. Decent beat, dark mumblings and synth gurglings. Sounds like the very music is on drugs. Not for home listening. Not for listening at all, in my case.

6. More dark synth beats, squelching bass and semi-orchestral synth stabs of chord... pretty fantastic at high volume, dull at any other. Best I imagine heard very late on a Saturday night, somewhere dark and public.

7. Synth pop that starts out like ELO then a little popcorn (remember them?), quite traditional, a sort of Mouse's Marching Band track, The Dancerock "Golliwog's Cakewalk", if you like.

8. A freaky cheeky naughty, junky, spoilt, throaty, babygirl rhythmic rap - holds back a little just when you think it should take off... then it comes in, but it's the heavy slamming bass synth rhythm again... there's too little light and shade on this record really. Bits of it are great and other parts not that great. This track is the peak for me. Really great fun and kind of infectious. Not bad at all.

The rest? Well this is an album I defy you to listen to all in one sitting. In fact, it's a bit oppressive. Like sitting in a soft-top on a dark wet night in a car park. Eventually you just get a feeling of claustrophobia.

For me, it has to be Simian Mobile Disco, coming from behind, but eventually romping it by 20 lengths. The Simian album will stay in my car for months.