More than anything else, French electronic duo Justice is a band that understands its place in the music scene: unabashed Daft Punk parroters, expounders of bygone rave culture enthusiasm, sexy remix producers whose primary obligation is to the dance floor. The tidal wave of hype generated by their contractual bedfellows over at Vice has meant high profile placements on MySpace (88,000 friends and climbing), remix opportunities for a head-scratching range of artists (Britney Spears and Franz Ferdinand? Touché!), and the ubiquitous slimy buzz factor in music magazines and online publications. ‘Advantages’ like these are generally anything but, frequently metastasizing into a ready-made backlash when the moment is ripe.

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The Department of Homeland Clichés can say what they’d like, but I’m not sure too many people are flattered by imitation. Trademarks, copyrights, and the entire legal industry that fights to keep intellectual property sacred seem evidence that the adage has it backwards: imitation is the shortest route to a cease and desist letter.

Admittedly, things work a little differently in the arts and in music in particular, where any artist’s creations trace a clear lineage through the works which preceded them. It is inevitable and fundamental, a river of generic progression only flowing one way. Still, Ulrich Schnauss’ third and latest release, Goodbye, is such a near flawless fascimile of the records released by England’s Slowdive in the heyday of the early ’90s shoegazer movement that the band’s former members should be rounding up their legal eagles and suing for infringement.

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