The members of three-piece indie rock band Gossip claim to have been “raised in Arkansas by women, wolves, and cassettes.” That’s just what I heard through the grapevine. Believe what you want, but this Gossip is no news.

Formed in 2000 in Olympia, Washington, Gossip has never quite resembled the product of this relatively small capital city, and certainly not of Arkansas. Though they had modest beginnings as a primarily garage/punk rock group called The Gossip, they have since dropped the “The” (who needs articles anyway?), experimented with various labels (signing on to their first major label in 2007) and completely revolutionized their sound. Their 2009 release and fourth studio album, Music for Men, places them firmly in the genre of indie-disco-soul-dance-rock. If that wasn’t a genre before, it is now.

What we can always count on from Gossip are front woman Beth Ditto’s sharp, dominant vocals, which never cease to pierce through the blaring instrumentals. The tracks on Music for Men are no exception- if anything, the sound is even more distinct and crisp due to the switch to Columbia, a major label. The album kicks off with “Dimestore Diamond”, a track that at first features just a laid-back bass line and a thumping kick drum until Ditto nonchalantly joins in. She then begins telling the tale of a woman who is known as a ‘dimestore diamond’ but she “shines like the real thing” (talk about gossip…ouch). The track that follows, “Heavy Cross”, (featured on WBRU’s Nine O’Clock News in October), is the album’s first single and probably the best summation of the album as a whole. It begins with a pulsating guitar and some eerie humming from Ditto, but goes on to become an inevitable dance party, highlighted by the chorus in which Ditto’s vocals become bigger than ever. The rest of the album is a strangely appealing mix of love songs and dance anthems, some resembling the Diana Ross-esque soul/disco blend of decades past (“Love Long Distance”), and others resembling forward-thinking odes to the 80’s punk rock that undoubtedly influenced Gossip’s earlier work (“8^th Wonder” and “2012”). The album ends with “The Breakdown”, an ambient track that almost seems to ease us out of the dance mayhem that we just witnessed in the first twelve tracks.

Music for Men may be Gossip’s fourth studio album, but the band remains somewhat obscure in mainstream America. Their indie reputation may explain this, but it doesn’t explain their massive popularity across the pond. Gossip have won over Europe, and only time will tell if they catch on in the States. Word on the street is…they’re on their way.

7/10