The Singles Jukebox

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[5.44]

Josh Winters: With one listen of “Safe and Sound,” you can easily trace the lineage of its influences, going back to “A Fifth of Beethoven” all the way to the nu-disco revivalists of today. As their comeback single, Justice don’t do much to distinguish themselves from the current crop; the grooves are funky yet familiar, and the theme of night driving in dance music is certainly tried and true, but the grandiosity of the string suite that sweeps in halfway through reminds you why you wanted to get on the highway in the first place, even if more distinctive cars have traveled the same roads before.
[6]

Tim de Reuse: Justice methodically worships at all the correct mid-energy French House altars. I’d give it a pass, but the stiff enunciation on the tune’s breathy singular verse is too painful to ignore for six whole minutes. Hell, I could even have forgiven the awkward, lazy attempt at a rousing refrain (rhyming “sound” with “sound?” Whuh?) if the singer hadn’t belted it out with the cadence of someone desperately trying to get a phone company’s tech support voice recognition robot to parse his social security number.
[4]

Alfred Soto: Ah, the halcyon days of 2005 when a string section and slap bass could get white people in Greenpoint dancing. Justice’s moment happened a year later and it involved a kids choir; no one who cares will remember. The aptly titled “Safe and Sound” echoes Escort’s “Starlight” more than Justice themselves, and I can’t deny the pull of those strings. But it’s a static piece of work, existing to be sampled. How post-modern!
[6]

Ramzi Awn: Bombastic harmonies and clicks are usually a safe bet. Though the strings are a bit canned, the unconventional melody on “Safe and Sound” becomes quickly familiar, and the repetitive lyrics serve the bass line well. 
[7]

Katie Gill: That bit with the violins is sublime. As for the rest? I mean, Random Access Memories is great but come ON, Justice.
[5]

A.J. Cohn: With its over-the-top slap bass, literal string section, pew pew laser synths, and portentous lyrics delivered by an actual choir, “Safe and Sound” is so silly that I can’t help but love it.
[7]

Scott Mildenhall: It’s the natural progression from † that never was. To think they had the cheek to put the word “disco” in the name of that second album! The hard edges of the first one were part of what made it exhilarating, but smoothing them down and allowing space for luxuriation produces positive results. “Man up” is a 0/10 phrase though.
[7]

Ryo Miyauchi: The noodling bass line and the humming strings are a nostalgic treat back to the duo’s Cross days, though the record as a whole reminds why “Audio, Video, Disco” was initially such a disappointment as a follow-up: While the bells and whistles may be glamorous, the song carried zero momentum. This one gets people out of their seats, and so did their last effort. But can they please make us do more than stand and applaud?
[4]

Will Rivitz: This song, along with Justice’s whole career post-Cross, is essentially the audio equivalent of the DC Extended Universe — overwrought, overlong, and cloyingly superficial, with a few flashes of kickassery that give people false hope that the next installment will be any better. I wish Justice hadn’t peaked in 2007, but here we are.
[3]