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 GossipMusic for Men(Columbia) US release date: 6 October 2009 UK release date: 22 June 2009 Digital release date: 23 June 2009 By Emily TartanellaMusic for Men, is not, whatever the hype may suggest, the second album from Gossip – although, in the wake of Standing in the Way of Control’s massive success, it might as well be. In fact, Music for Men is the band’s fourth studio album and the culmination of nearly a decade of musical experimentation. Originally a small-time Washington-via-Arkansas punk band, Gossip hit it big with their last album, but it looks as though the hype has taken its toll. Helmed by Beth Ditto, one of rock’s most remarkable new icons, Gossip comes across as a furious mix of soul, blues, and disco, often precariously balanced between the three. But on Music for Men, as on Standing, that balanced is tipped slightly towards the latter. Dance-punk as a genre is starting to feel a little stale, and Gossip were always at their most majestic when they let Ditto’s blues-howl lead the show. If their debut That’s Not What I’ve Heardwas a swampy, brutal masterpiece, then recent efforts have often felt like an attempt to capture that early energy. Rick Rubin’s bloated production (perhaps unsurprisingly) doesn’t do the band any favors in that respect. While Brace Paine and Hannah Blilie acquit themselves pretty well (Blilie in particular has really developed as a drummer), most of Gossip’s magic gets lost in the translation. Music for Men has a glossy, heavily-produced sound (particularly on “Pop Goes the World”, which is more made-up than a Kardashian). And if that production amps up “2012” into a satisfyingly gnarly rock monster, it’s enough to derail the sludgy “Vertical Rhythm”. Even the opening purr of “Dimestore Diamond” is misleading; it promises a return-to-form and delivers a lukewarm testament to a girl who “shines like the real thing”. Part of the problem might be that, as important as Blilie and Paine are to the group, Gossip has always been the Beth Ditto show – and her recent celebrity status has only increased that perception. And so to take Ditto’s outraged howl and turn it into a coo is a crime. Even on “Heavy Cross”, Music for Men’s lead single, she spends most of its four minutes contained within a glossy, new-wave cage. The exception is the fiery “8th Wonder”, which more than stands on its own thanks to lyrics like “There was a time/ Before girls knew they weren’t pretty yet / There was a time / Before boys knew they weren’t tough enough.” “8th Wonder” is a rare moment where Music for Men reclaims the power that made “Standing in the Way of Control”, both as a song and an album, so anthemic and unforgettable. But ultimately Music for Men really can’t compete with the loaded gun that was That’s Not What I’ve Heard, the glitter-painted firebomb of Standing in the Way of Control. Even the show-stopping “Men in Love” feels as though it thinks it’s more rebellious than it actually is. A “Chain of Fools” style chant of “shame, shame, shame”? The admonition to “dance like there’s nobody looking”? It’s catchy, as are most of the tracks here, but it’s all glitter and glitz and even if “everybody’s waking up with someone,” it just feels like a one-night stand. Ditto and co. have been miles beyond this for years now, and by turning to a tired sound without bringing any new ideas, they risk losing what made them so unique in the first place. — 27 July 2009
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Comments
As a huge Gossip fan since the days of “Arkansas Heat” and a former resident of Olympia who has seen Gossip shows with as few as 20 people in the audience and shared many pre- and post- show cigarettes with Beth Ditto, I hate to admit it, but you’ve hit the nail on the head with this review.
I was hotly anticipating this album, hoping for that return-to-form. I didn’t expect “That’s Not What I Heard Pt. 2”, but hoped that they’d move forward by integrating their disco approach to “Standing” with their earlier material, growing by synthesizing new connections and breaking new genre-defying ground. The music on “Music For Men” isn’t bad in and of itself; in fact, if I hadn’t known the Gossip, I might think this was one of the better records released this year. However, *all* of the band members underachieve on this one. Paine’s guitar work on the first 2 records was one of a kind; his unique tunings and scratchy quirky pick scrapes and strokes gave him a personal signature that set him apart in a way that most guitarists can only dream of. I feared for Beth Ditto’s Adam’s apple, imagining graphic new medical terms like lacerodeviated voiceboxitis, such was her fearsome vocal power (perhaps only Kathleen Hannah has a rawer scream). However, my theory is that the turning point was when they lost Kathy Mendocna to midwifery. I take nothing away from Hanna Blilie’s precise, metronomic, and spirited drumming…but Mendocna’s simple but brutal drumming was an integral part of their early sound, and Blilie’s style just never seemed to gel to me. It seems to take up more space that Paine’s detuned simultaneous guitar/bass (basstar?) filled perfectly. The last 2 records, he has sounded about as uncomfortably restrained as Ditto sounds on this record; like a wild horse which suddenly finds himself corralled and led around by a halter, still powerful, majestic, and aesthetically beautiful but a shadow of his former self in terms of balls out freedom.
I have no problem with their major label status and superstardom ambitions - after all, what would the music world have been like if Kurt Cobain had decided to eschew a major label in favour of staying cozy in the insular Olympia scene? I too believe if you have something to say, you should say it to as many people as possible. My problem is that I *know* they can do so much better. I liked Radiohead’s conscious evolution from “OK Computer” to “Kid A”, but someone’s holding the Gossip’s road map upside down. I miss the “Two hours south of Memphis, y’all, from a little town in Arkansas, where the people haven’t changed at all since…1965, tell the preacher just in case he asks, that we ain’t never ever comin’ back, well it’s all done and in the past, and that’s good enough for me!” Beth Ditto. Sure, cooing your message conveys the same information as snarling it, but she snarled it so *well*! It’s just a disappointingly unbalanced and banal delivery…I know it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but I wonder sometimes if I had ear-blinders (not quite earplugs) and no knowledge of pre-2005 Gossip, as so many new fans are blissfully unaware, if I’d be singing the praises of this album. There are still some elements to love here, but…it’s that underachievement that kills me. Rick Rubin saw them for the first time in 2007 and maybe that’s the problem—did he listen to any of their back catalogue? The Beastie Boys use guitar far more effectively, and ironically sound more punk than the Gossip, and something’s wrong with that. Maybe Blilie will re-connect with Shoplifting and decide that’s more to her liking and Ditto/Paine (nee Nathan Howdeshell) will have a chance meeting with Meg White (White Stripes) and we’ll hear a proper Gossip record before…2012.
Here’s hoping this album will grow on me somehow until then.
With a light snort, a swift turn and a snap of the tail,
StandardbredHorse
(Mic Morose of the Kroakers)
http://www.last.fm/music/Kroakers/Ruined+and+Going+Downhill
Comment by StandardbredHorse from Olympia, WA and Vancouver, BC — September 5, 2009 @ 2:14 am