The Gossip - Music For Men

 The Gossip - Music For Men
 2/10

There’s no doubting Beth Ditto’s voice has a certain sting but let’s be honest, the reason The Gossip is popular is not because of their music. It’s because people are fascinated by the band’s obese lead singer, who has been painted by many in the entertainment media as some kind of freak. She’s posed naked for both Love and NME magazines and that’s just the start; she put herself in the spotlight and it worked once, but it’s doubtful it will work this time around. Beth Ditto’s weight is old news, now it’s time to let the music do the talking. Shamefully they can’t rely on their music, for without a new gimmick The Gossip has nothing to prove they’re worthy of the hype. Their attempts to revive the mid 2000s new rave scene are pitiful; trying the same old tricks without anything remotely progressive.

In Ditto’s own words, this is “predictable and typical” of a band stuck in time, 2006 to be precise, lacking ideas and the ability to work something new into their aging sound. Aside from the lead single ‘Heavy Cross’, which for a brief moment hints that The Gossip might finally have figured out a way to take advantage of Ditto’s powerful voice, Music For Men is totally cliché. Bouncy, repetitive guitar hooks sweep the floor on every song, the beats can’t even balance themselves on a straight floor and the vocals grate like a meowing Burmese cat. They’ve removed Ditto from the cover of the album and it just might be a big mistake. The Gossip needs the gimmick.

Nick