Album & Live in Linz

Gossip: Better well recycled than badly renewed

(Bild: Columbia, Cody Critcheloe, Krone KREATIV)

There was an official anniversary tour for the 2009 album "Music For Men", but hardly anyone expected a real reunion of Gossip. Thanks to producer Rick Rubin, Beth Ditto and her former bandmates have found each other again - and play to all their strengths on the new album "Real Power". To be seen live at Lido Sounds in Linz.

It's not just Rick Rubin's Christmas beard that reminds us of Jesus. Sometimes it's also his everyday demeanor and the fact that he has worked really hard to earn his producer's reputation. As co-founder of Def Jam Recordings and album refiner for artists such as Slayer, the Beastie Boys, Metallica, Adele and Imagine Dragons, he has definitely helped shape the music world in the highly commercial sector. In 2009, Rubin was also responsible for "Music For Men", the fourth album by the American indie dance collective Gossip at the time, which became an all-time favorite of the entire scene, not least thanks to the single of the century "Heavy Cross". However, Gossip's fame did not go so well within the band community. A few years later, frontwoman Beth Ditto left the world of fashion and film to concentrate on solo projects.

Mature community
The tenth anniversary of the cult album in 2019 was marked by an acclaimed world tour, which took Gossip to the completely sold-out Vienna Arena and raised hopes of a proper comeback. What nobody knew at the time - it was thanks to Rubin that it actually happened. Ditto actually wanted to create a follow-up to her rather mediocre solo debut "Fake Sugar" from 2017, but Rubin brought her long-time songwriting partner Nathan Howdeshell to the Hawaiian studio in Kauai and the creative process was brought back into collective spheres. During the incredible twelve years that have passed since the last album "A Joyful Noise" and the comeback album "Real Power", various protagonists of the band have gone through divorces, separations, deaths, creative blockades and personal crises. Today, they are in their forties, still have a loyal following and know better than ever what they have in common.

"I've come to realize some things in life," Howdeshell said in the run-up to the album release, "we have a wonderful friendship, we make wonderful music and we should never take life for granted. I've come to see the beauty in the little things in life." Apart from the personal changes, the musical and social climate has also changed over the last twelve years. People still press vinyl for enthusiasts, but no longer CDs, and the streaming market has caused a shift in sales and a paradigm shift. In addition, issues that Gossip fought vehemently for ten to 15 years ago have not improved sufficiently, but significantly. "Queer people have now arrived in the mainstream," says Ditto, "that was definitely not the case ten years ago when we stopped with Gossip."

Shifting topics
Artists such as Sam Smith, Lil Nas X, Anohni, Christine And The Queens, Janelle Monáe and Kim Petras now stand for a naturalness that Ditto once fought for, as well as for a more all-encompassing image of beauty ideals and a general increase in tolerance. Clear statements about more respect and acceptance were no longer as necessary for "Real Power" as they were back then. Instead, other topics have found their way onto the album, and there was no getting around them. The title track, for example, is intended to encourage people to recognize and use their own strength in situations where an oversized social force threatens to render them powerless. Musically, "Real Power" with its mixture of Donna Summer's voice, KISS late 70s disco vibes and indie feeling is not only the absolute album highlight, but can also easily be placed in a row with the famous "Heavy Cross".

The fact that the album and song titles are similar to the legendary Iggy And The Stooges album "Raw Power" is of course no coincidence. Gossip don't reinvent the musical wheel on their comeback album, but rather wander joyfully through their own garden of the past, picking out all the flowers that are still appreciated and considered good with the appropriate distance to the past. The opener "Act Of God", for example, reaches out in the direction of the indie punk guitar era of the early days, "Give It Up For Love" is another catchy tune reminiscent of Talking Heads and the first single "Crazy Again" is a declaration of love cast in sound by a completely satisfied Beth Ditto, who, after divorce and relationship quarrels, has found private happiness including peace and quiet again for some time. On "Real Power", personal feelings and problems take precedence over global ones, so the band is more concerned with the microcosm.

Late realization
"'Real Power' stands for the power of the right family, the self-chosen family and friendship," explains Ditto, "I can't make music without Nathan, it just doesn't work. I've had my problems, but it's nice to be able to talk openly and honestly about everything with another maniac - and also to grow up together. When you get older and have lost people, you appreciate those who are important to you all the more. That's why the album doesn't feel like a reunion, but simply like a normal trip to the studio to create something together." It is also thanks to the studio view of the ocean that in songs like "Turn The Card", leisurely surf guitars shine through from the overall sound. "Real Power" is not another miracle album like "Music For Men", but an official comeback that ultimately lacks only one thing: the courage to be different and to develop further. But better well recycled than badly renewed.

Live at Lido Sounds
Gossip return to us this summer with their new album "Real Power". They will be playing together with Parov Stelar, Benjamin Clementine, Deichkind and co. at Lido Sounds in Linz on June 28. Tickets and all other information about the live highlight are still available at www.oeticket.com.