They're a strange bunch are The Gossip. With an agenda that only the likes of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre (spot the link) can match for assertiveness and a confident pseudo sexual breeze that would have fellow extrovert Peaches covering herself up with the bath towel every morning, their CV makes them sound like the most exciting thing on the planet.
So why aren't they then? Well, it's probably got everything to do with the music they're making. Sure, Beth Ditto sounds like every cool singer that's ever jumped out of a Bratmobile since Belinda Carlisle's lips were sealed two-and-a-half decades ago but 'Listen Up!' never really takes off outta the starting blocks which sadly also end up as being the home strait.
Still, the bassline rules in a Bernard Edwards kinda way and both the MSTRKRFT and JD Twitch remixes elevate it to a kind of mid-evening slot status on the dancefloor. Not so much too cool for school then - more like fri(d)g-id.
I agree
Good review.
...
i heard one of their songs, mighta been this one. It just doesnt strike me as anything special at all. Might give em a bang live though.
Saw the video on 120 minutes last night.
The singer was stuffing her face with pizza. Also there was a Flex your head poster on the bassist's wall. And I enjoyed it a bit if it was a little long.
These elements combined contributed to me remembering the name of the band. And here I come onto DiS today and there they are!
I feel like such a pawn.
I disagree
Strongly. But then at least *this* reviewer seems vaguely aware of who the band actually are. So yeah, fair enough.
Looking through all the Gossip reviews on here, this website doesn't really like them, does it? in fact, is it just me, or is there something quite 'boys with guitars' about this whole place? I mean, giving 'Movement' 5/10?
I don't know. I guess what sounds passionate, immediate, iconoclastic and downright funky to me might just be lost on someone else. Just as I'd rather throw myself down a fire escape than listen to 65days: There's no accounting for taste.
...
just because some people dont like this song/band doesnt really make it particularly sexist. arent there "boys with guitars" in this band as well? it is only the one girl in the band innit?
The drummer's
a girl too.
To me they're the "England" of the US Underground scene - too much pre-match hype but nowt to follow it up with at the end of it all.
I didn't call anyone sexist
The vast majority of people on this site are late teens / early 20s males who primarily like boys making vaguely alternative sounds with guitars. Nothing wrong with that.
People identify better with artists who are like themselves. e.g. The Elvis / Eminiem effect. e.g. The generally lower commercial performance of female fronted rock bands compared to male fronted rock bands. Fact of life. Sadly.
Take a look around DiS. There's quite a few female fronted / all girl bands who frequently get rave reviews elsewhere who get pretty lousy / average reviews on here. The Gossip are one of them.
The main exception I can see is Sleater-Kinney. And I mean, who wouldn't like Sleater-Kinney? The deaf?
Less punk than modern soul
...and unlike the guitar-tuner-huh? sound of early 90s Olympia punk, these guys can *play*. The single is pretty restrained but I bet they blow up in concert. I kept waiting for someone to step on an OD-2 pedal and just hose everybody down with a blast of distortion.