Heavy Cross Gossip Reviewed By : Andy Hill

Try as I might, I just can’t bring myself to dislike Gossip. Despite all the publicity-seeking naked magazine covers, tantrums and lack of any real lyrical substance, something in their tunes manages to get me (and almost any dancefloor) going.

Their latest offering, 'Heavy Cross', is a textbook two-chord synth/guitar stomp. It demonstrates ably, if perhaps unremarkably, that there’s still some mileage left in this US outfit. The grimy combination of regimented, insistent backbeat with Beth Ditto’s cyanide-laced vocals is enough to justify a second listen. But this also has a self-confidence with just a little arrogance that makes it sexy and even a possible athem.

It's a refreshing sound compared to the excess of ringtone-pop attempting to be passed off as new rave/indie/synth rock which is currently flooding the market. This record makes it clear that Gossip will continue to flourish - they sound legitimate, they sound like they mean it, and that makes them worth a fat dozen of their contemporaries.

7/10

Browse our directory and buy now