Album Review - Gossip: A Joyful Noise

Gossip
A Joyful Noise
Rating: Meh

Beth Ditto is rather larger than life, an out and proud front woman with a powerful voice that is even bigger than her lush, zaftig frame. On record and onstage, she is a force of nature that tends to overshadow the music. Emerging from a DIY dance-punk beginning to land a major label contract, Gossip released Music for Men back in 2009, and somehow, under the tutelage of Rick Rubin, their bite was reduced somewhat. While there were a lot of great, dance-able tracks on that record, there seemed to be a lack of danger and excitement. Live, however, these tracks came to life, which made me feel a little less anxious about their future. Well, I should say, until the release of their latest album A Joyful Noise, which is produced by Xenomania founder Brian Higgins, who has produced the likes of Cher, Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, The Saturdays and Sugababes. As I have mentioned in past reviews, I don't have a dislike for pop music as long as it is not auto-pilot, by-the-numbers types of songs, and I have no problem with indie-esque acts moving to a more pop sound, as long as the songs are still catchy and there is still a spark of the old band kept within. Here, I wished Gossip had just gone for it, and made a Top 40 pop record, instead of trying to some sort of hybrid. Instead of getting a fun, sparkling album, we get something timid and tepid. While the production is slick and well done, the buffing and polishing makes the pop songs listless and the attempted edgier tracks toothless. I kept craving something that sounded darker and more challenging, which sadly never came.

This is not to say the album is unenjoyable. There are several really nice tracks where the production suits the songs and Ditto's voice. Disco-punk barn burner "Move In The Right Direction" has a slinky, sexy vibe propelled by a driving beat and swooping synths.



Likewise, "Get Lost," has a great chorus where the disco guitars and deep house piano rolls really take off.



"Love In A Foreign Place" leans in the right direction between pop and indie, keeping a tight fit between the down-tempo keyboards during the verses and the roaring chorus of full blown synth bursts.



Ballad "Casualties of War" benefits from the more streamlined production, and showcases a more subtle vocal turn from Ditto.



Lead track "Melody Emergency" has a nice sleazy, electro-blues vibe with Ditto's vocals slithering all along the verses and chorus.



The rest of the album wanders fairly aimlessly, never really taking flight in any way. Lead single "Perfect World" is pretty standard pop rock fare, with simple guitar chords and backbeat that only slightly comes alive at the chorus.



Elsewhere, the lyrics are particularly bothersome, as they border on being generic, telegraphing their meanings without subtlety or nuance. The simplistic "Involved" is merely about another woman attempting not to be hurt by love again,



while "Get A Job" apparently has Ditto mad that she has to go to work while her trust-fund roommate doesn't,



A Joyful Noise is the type of record that should be used as a cautionary tale for any artist letting their label and producers get too involved in the creation and direction of their sound. You know this is Gossip but it just doesn't feel like them. The edge that was once there is sorely lacking, and by midpoint of the record I was practically screaming for at least one song to just break from its over-produced shackles. For a record titled A Joyful Noise, there seems to be a distinct lack of anything joyful to back up those claims.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.