The Daily Telegraph - Features
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Gossip: Real Power
Sony
★★★★★ By Neil McCormick US trio Gossip are about to get tongues wagging again with their superb comeback album, Real Power. After knocking around the American punk scene for a few years, Gossip broke in the UK with fearsome mid-2000s indie banger Standing in the Way of Control (which also gave their third album its title).
Barnstorming performances made frontwoman Beth Ditto the talk of the town. Set against a spartan garage disco rock backing, Ditto’s roaring voice blasted like a force of nature, her physical presence unabashedly challenging indie rock’s skinny male heteronormative stereotypes. Here was a big, bold, gay woman letting rip in a rock scene that had never dealt with anyone quite like her before. Written as a protest against attempts to block same-sex marriage in the US, Standing in the Way of Control became the theme of controversial teen UK TV drama series Skins, turning into an all-purpose anthem of youthful rebellion.
With the fierce leanness of their stripped-back pop rock sound, Gossip were a gamechanging band who never quite reaped the highest rewards (and never broke their native US). They made two more albums before breaking up in 2016. The trio reunited recently under the encouragement of super producer Rick Rubin (who oversaw the excellent album Music For Men in 2009).
Control is still on the agenda, albeit recontextualised by the life experiences of a band now inescapably middle-aged. “I’m not only losing, losing, losing control,” wails Ditto on the fantastic Motown-influenced opening track Act of God. “But I think I’m losing, losing a piece of my soul.” Grappling with issues of control on a personal rather than political spectrum, a compelling set of emotional, hook-laden songs face up to the fallout of a decade in which 43-year-old Ditto’s five-year same-sex marriage ended in divorce, followed by a new relationship with transgender musician Teddy Kwo (who plays bass in Gossip’s live ensemble). Love can be complicated in the 21st century, but that doesn’t mean pop music has to be.
The best thing about Real Power is the way three perfectly balanced musicians concoct a sound of such thrilling dynamism, wit and energy without ever getting in each other’s way. Drummer Hannah Blilie is as metronomic as a drum machine, punctuating disco and rock beats with simple percussive flourishes, relentlessly driving the bangers and providing a steady grip on mid-tempo songs. Nathan Howdeshell plays guitars, synthesizer and bass without ever overcrowding himself. Indeed, with the minimalist Rubin presiding, the sound is barely layered at all, with every track built around a simple guitar or bass part operating in tight conjunction with the drums, while shivers and shimmers of other sounds flit in and out of the sonic space. Ditto’s voice takes care of the rest, as a lead and harmony instrument.
Some may lament that she no longer attacks every vocal as if she is trying to shatter glass and smash through walls, but I think control improves her singing. She still has all the character and tone of yore, but added sweetness, melody and intimacy too. This album is Gossip at their best. Real Power from a real power trio.