Album Review
Thank heavens for Beth Ditto. In a world of manufactured, auto-tuned pop stars and wispy-voiced indie-chanteuse pinups it's nice to see an honest-to-god female rock star who is provocative, strong, and sexy with the muscular vocal chops to match. Since the release of 2005's Standing in the Way of Control, Ditto has become a superstar in the UK, hobnobbing with Karl Lagerfeld and Kate Moss and proudly splashing her naked body across the covers of British magazines. But at home in America, the Oregon-by-way-of-Arkansas singer is still a niche artist. That is supposed to change with Music For Men, her band's first studio album for Columbia. It represents Gossip's major-label coming out party, an achievement shepherded by bearded superproducer Rick Rubin.
The result is a good Gossip album, one that could soundtrack sweaty summer dance parties, but it also isn't drastically different from their last one. They may now have major-label money and famous friends, but their bluesy-voiced dance-punk remains unchanged-- a fact that is especially surprising given the waning popularity of that genre over the last four years. Ditto may be the "personality" of the band, its loud-mouthed, outrageously attired public face, but the power of its sound is anchored by Hannah Blilie's thundering, precise drumming and Brace Paine's choppy, Chic riffs. And on Music For Men these "sidemen" are in rare form with drums so taut they sound almost mechanical and pulsing, staccato basslines that call to mind Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" (as on "Heavy Cross") and the "Knight Rider" theme song (as on "Vertical Rhythm"). But fret not, Ditto-worshippers; the arrangements are meticulous but spare, leaving plenty of sonic space for her vocal pyrotechnics. In fact, it is her florid, soulful voice that gives these crisply percussive tracks their melodic kick.
With a lean three-person lineup and a crack rhythm section, Gossip have never really been driven by their melodies. They built their reputation on unforgiving rhythmic relentlessness and Ditto's raw, limber warble instead of on singalong anthems or hooky choruses. But there are moments on Music For Men that represent some of the most memorably melodic of their career. In many cases, that's because Ditto has interpolated snippets of classic hits into her throttling garage-disco tunes. "Love Long Distance", for instance, quotes "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"'s "not much longer would you be my baby" line, and "Men in Love", this album's answer to the last record's gay-rights anthem of a title track, features a "Chain of Fools"-like "shame, shame, shame" refrain. It makes sense that Ditto would be influenced by such soul classics, given the vintage bent of her wail, but the band also pays homage to their disco and hard-rock influences on "2012", a standout track that flips Kiss' "I Was Made For Lovin' You" into a handclap-studded disco-punk anthem that instead announces, "My heart may never beat again, baby/ Have you got the best of me?"
Though longtime fans of the band may worry that they have left their DIY-punk-scene roots behind for Paris Fashion Week and pictures on Perez Hilton, Music For Men should assuage their fears-- not because it's not a glamorous or glitzy collection (it is), but because it sounds so much like its predecessor. Being caught between the mainstream and the underground may have changed the band's visibility, but it hasn't changed their music much. That is both a relief and little bit of a disappointment. As a musical statement of intent to the throngs of the newly interested, Music For Men shows a clear picture of who Gossip want to be-- a New Millennial Madonna for whom Danceteria never closes. But for those who have been following Gossip's career, waiting with bated breath to see how the band will evolve, this new record may feel a little too much like they are still Standing in the Way of Control.
— Rebecca Raber, June 24, 2009
Album Player
- Dinosaur Jr.: Farm
- Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer
- Regina Spektor: Far
- God Help the Girl: God Help the Girl
- Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship
- Gossip: Music For Men
- Bibio: Ambivalence Avenue
- The Lemonheads: Varshons
- Future of the Left: Travels With Myself and Another
- Saint Etienne: Foxbase Alpha / Continental
- Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
- Spinnerette: Spinnerette
- Deer Tick: Born on Flag Day
- Noisettes: Wild Young Hearts
- Patterson Hood: Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs)
- The Paper Chase: Someday This Could All Be Yours
- Mos Def: The Ecstatic
- Sholi: Sholi
- So Many Dynamos: The Loud Wars
- The Present: World I See / The Way We Are
- Bibio: Ambivalence Avenue
- Various Artists: A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island
- Ganglians: Ganglians / Monster Head Room
- Hello Seahorse!: Bestia
- Land of Kush: Against the Day
- Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship
- The Lemonheads: Varshons
- Alasdair Roberts: Spoils
- So Many Dynamos: The Loud Wars
- The Present: World I See / The Way We Are
- Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer
- Gossip: Music For Men
- Spinnerette: Spinnerette
- Future of the Left: Travels With Myself and Another
- The Paper Chase: Someday This Could All Be Yours
- God Help the Girl: God Help the Girl
- Regina Spektor: Far
- Playboy Tre: Liquor Store Mascot
- Noisettes: Wild Young Hearts
- Larry Jon Wilson: Larry Jon Wilson
Recently
Reviews
- Bibio: Ambivalence Avenue
- Various Artists: A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island
- Ganglians: Ganglians / Monster Head Room
- Hello Seahorse!: Bestia
- Land of Kush: Against the Day
Track Reviews
TV
Features
News
- Jackson's Cause of Death Not Yet Determined
- Video: Wilco and Feist Perform "You and I"
- Echo Chamber: Colin Meloy
- Reznor Reveals Rejected Timbaland Remix
- Stars' Amy Millan Preps Second Solo Album
- Blur Reunion Live Album on the Way
- New Release: The Postmarks: Memoirs at the End...
- MGMT to Open for Paul McCartney
- Echo Chamber: Black Francis
- Download a New Fleet Foxes Song
Reviews
- Tortoise: Beacons of Ancestorship
- The Lemonheads: Varshons
- Alasdair Roberts: Spoils
- So Many Dynamos: The Loud Wars
- The Present: World I See / The Way We Are
Track Reviews
News
- Artists React to Michael Jackson's Death
- R.I.P. Michael Jackson
- Benefits: Jeff Tweedy | Robin Pecknold | TVOTR
- Echo Chamber: Morrissey
- Join the Vampire Weekend Tribute Band!
- New Release: Joe Pernice: It Feels So Good...
- Listen: Wale + Peter Bjorn and John
- Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe on Mulcahy Tribute
- Video: Wilco: "You Never Know" (Live on "Conan")
- R.I.P. Seeds Frontman Sky Saxon
Reviews
- Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer
- Gossip: Music For Men
- Spinnerette: Spinnerette
- Future of the Left: Travels With Myself and Another
- The Paper Chase: Someday This Could All Be Yours
Track Reviews
Features
News
- Unreleased Jeff Buckley Song in Tearjerker
- Pitchfork on ABC: Kasabian's West Ryder Pauper Lun
- Devendra Banhart Finishes New LP, Leaves XL
- Buy Billy Corgan Lunch!
- New Release: La Roux: La Roux
- Is This the Flaming Lips Album Cover?
- Pitchfork on ABC: God Help the Girl
- The Roots to Debut New Song on "Late Night"
- Chris Knox Leaves Hospital After Stroke
- Jim James to Release George Harrison Tribute
Reviews
- God Help the Girl: God Help the Girl
- Regina Spektor: Far
- Playboy Tre: Liquor Store Mascot
- Noisettes: Wild Young Hearts
- Larry Jon Wilson: Larry Jon Wilson
Track Reviews
- Air France: "GBG Belongs to Us" [ft. Roos]
- The Binary Marketing Show: "Shape of Your Head"
- The Radio Dept.: "David"
News
- Dirty Projectors in Auto Accident
- Common | Reverie Sound Revue | Octopus Project
- Nick Cave and Warren Ellis Score Sex Trade Doc
- Rhino Releases Factory Records Digital Box
- Jay Bennett's Death: Overdose
- Sunny Day Real Estate Reunite!
- Listen to Archived Primavera Sets on WFMU
- Echo Chamber: Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth
- Seniors Interview Fiery Furnaces, Bash Wilco
- Arctic Monkeys Unleash Album Art, Dates
Reviews
- Dinosaur Jr.: Farm
- Patterson Hood: Murdering Oscar (and Other Love Songs)
- Sharon Van Etten: Because I Was in Love
- Deer Tick: Born on Flag Day
- Sholi: Sholi
Track Reviews
Features
News
- Crystal Castles Tangle With Security at Sonar
- Rhino Releases Los Angeles Nuggets Box Set
- Echo Chamber: Death Cab's Chris Walla
- Watch Jack White's New Band Live Right Now!
- A Sunny Day in Glasgow Ready Sophomore LP
- T.V. Eye: June 22-28
- Video: Clipse [ft. Kanye]: "Kinda Like a Big Deal"
- Radiohead/Wilco/Marr Supergroup LP Details
- Wu-Tang Clan Brings Us Chamber Music
- TVOTR's Malone Signs to Anti- for Solo Project
Reviews
- Saint Etienne: Foxbase Alpha / Continental
- Finale: A Pipe Dream and a Promise
- Sir Richard Bishop: The Freak of Araby
- Psapp: The Camel's Back
- Speck Mountain: Some Sweet Relief
Track Reviews
Features
News
- Trent Reznor Logs Back On
- Radiohead's Kid A, Amnesiac, Thief Reissued
- Black Lips + King Khan + BBQ = Almighty Defenders
- Video: Sigur Rós Live on the Interface
- Premiere: Cymbals Eat Guitars: "Tunguska"
- Islands Announce Third Album
- Hear the New Bloc Party Single Here
- Georgia Theatre | Shunda K | Throw Me the Statue
- Clientele Announce New Album Details
- Pitchfork Music Festival Set Times Revealed