Before 'Music For Men' was even released, Beth Ditto remarked that it would be quite a 'romantic' album with loads of love songs, despite its macho title. It may not be romantic in a conventional sense, but with all that 'love' in their air, it's hardly remarkable that with 'Music for Men', the Gossip have gone a little soft. Just a little, mind you, Ditto's sassy squawk is still their defining feature, while their edgy punk guitars still drive their sound, all be they slightly calmer than usual.
There are still some terrific moments here - the dampened guitar and hip hop vibe of 'Vertical Rhythm', the tropical percussion and quirky synths of 'Pop Goes The World', the Smiths-like guitar of '2012' and the boucing keyboards of 'Love Long Distance' - but it's never long before the sparse instrumentation and homogeneous pace seem to trudge again. The light rhythms and funky bassline of 'Men in Love' aren't enough to save it from its forced chorus and derivative lyrics, though, as Ditto herself says, at least the Gossip are using their popularity as a platform to raise awareness. Meanwhile, 'Four Letter Word' has an elegantly dark 80s vibe to it, but, like a lot of the tracks here, it just never seems to go anywhere.
Overall, there's a lot to like here, but very little to love. The Gossip are certainly branching out and developing their sound, incorporating broader influences, more synths and even the odd experimental break, but their 'damn the man' attitude and frantic energy were their entire appeal, and without it they're just, well, average.
