Justice

Because plenty of French artists wear their reputation for pretentiousness like a particularly tony beret, the decision by Justice's Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay to name their latest disc after a cross-like symbol doesn't bode well. Fortunately, the duo's electro-fiddling on †tends toward the egalitarian, not the exclusionary, with amped-up beats and floor-filling giddiness balancing out the occasional nod to pomposity.

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More About

• Xavier de Rosnay
• Gaspard Auge
• Nazareth

There are a few missteps here — most notably "TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY," in which an uninspired backing track is paired with rapper Uffie's entry in the World's Lamest MC contest. Yet the majority of the disc keeps the energy pumping via synthesized rhythms and cheeky production. "Genesis" kicks off with a mock-bombastic intro that gives way to basso profundo riffs, gothic moans and funky guitar, and "Waters of Nazareth" never lets its haunted-house grandeur get in the way of some major ass-shaking. As for the infectious, sing-songy "D.A.N.C.E.," it's like a children's story set to a beat.

And the little piggies cried "Oui! Oui! Oui!" all the way home.