<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" It&amp;#039;s no secret that Gossip have been steadily creeping towards a more chart-friendly sound. That said, the news that frontwoman Beth Ditto had been listening to Abba on repeat while making their new record, and that they&amp;#039;d enlisted Girls Aloud hitmaker Brian &amp;#039;Xenomania&amp;#039; Higgins to make it, will have no doubt caused knees to buckle amongst their long-time fans.  Fortunately, it&amp;#039;s an odd-couple formula that works; with Ditto&amp;#039;s bonkers persona and emotion-soaked vocals tamed within the tight confines of Higgins&amp;#039;s electro guitar riffs and syncopated drum pads. It&amp;#039;s summed up best on trailer single &amp;#039;Perfect World&amp;#039; - a rebellious and biblical anthem flanked by a chorus you could set your watch to.  The same can be said of his contribution on the relentless, synth-stomping &amp;#039;Move in the Right Direction&amp;#039; - a number aimed squarely at Soho&amp;#039;s dancefloors. The sing-speak intro on &amp;#039;Get A Job&amp;#039; and vintage Madonna sounds on &amp;#039;Get Lost&amp;#039; are reminiscent of Ditto&amp;#039;s solo lounge-pop EP from last year, chanting on the former with brattish charm: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d love to stay and party but I&amp;#039;ve got to go to work.&amp;quot; &amp;#039;Casualty Of War&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;Into The Wild&amp;#039; mark a brief downtempo section that is both wistful and nostalgic, though there&amp;#039;s a feeling they lose their way on latter tracks &amp;#039;Horns&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;I Won&amp;#039;t Play&amp;#039;. The result may lack Gossip&amp;#039;s traditional punk-rock angst, but in this collection of doom pop there&amp;#039;s still plenty of heart to be found.   Tracks to download: &amp;#039;Perfect World&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Move in the Right Direction&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Casualties of War&amp;#039;, &amp;#039;Get Lost&amp;#039;. If you like this, you&amp;#039;ll like: La Roux, Le Tigre, Roisin Murphy Watch Gossip&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;Perfect World&amp;#039; music video below:       "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/music/album-reviews/review/a381011/gossip-a-joyful-noise-album-review/>