Album Review: Gossip A Joyful Noise

It's good to see Gossip back together producing another solid studio album. Following a short solo jaunt by singer Beth Ditto in 2011, rumours began about the band's future, but thankfully they are now back with their fifth album, A Joyful Noise. And how do you follow up such a standout success as Music For Men? With more brash, soulful and clever pop music, of course.

Production by pop genius Brian Higgins (Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys,Girls Aloud), combined with Ditto's year off radio listening solely to ABBA albums, has resulted in another great pop-driven album with a satisfying sprinkling of dance beats. Opener Melody Emergency is typical Gossip territory, with a dirty riff and catchy melody that you can imagine will be played repeatedly on radio stations. First single off the album, Perfect World, is set for more chart-topping greatness and its Cyndi Lauper-inspired vocals will be a guaranteed club hit. There's an acutely more noticeable dance thread throughout this album, with a solid prog-rock bass line and razor sharp lyrics on Get A Job, an epic trance breakdown on Love In A Foreign Place, and a delightfully retro '90s dance feel on Get Lost. Casualties Of War brings things down a notch as a more delicate pop number, allowing the simple bass and plucking guitar to shine through. Ditto's vocals here hark back to early Madonna and pull on the heartstrings: “When you fall down, do you hear the sound/Of broken dreams, hitting the ground/Baby please, we're casualties of war.”

A Joyful Noise is a solid collection of Gossip greatness that is highly addictive and a sure-fire hit.