Gossip: Music for Men

Columbia Records

From indie cult favorites to mainstream mainstays—and even idiosyncratic fashion darlings—Olympia, Washington trio Gossip have trampled over the naysayers and the head-scratching skeptics proving that they are a sonic force to be reckoned with. On their Rick Rubin-produced fourth studio album Music for Men this threesome packs a punk-spirited punch into a dozen bluesy tracks making for a relentlessly good effort from its slithering start to frenetic firecracker-like finish. Standouts include the new wave-inspired “Heavy Cross” that finds frontwoman Beth Ditto in her element belting out punk-fused soul with the fierceness and intensity of a musically inclined tigress while the hip-shaking dark disco of “Men In Love” is sure to set hipster-filled dancefloors ablaze.