Now Playing: Gossip – ‘Perfect World’
Gossip - Perfect World
Now Playing – twice every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on some of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.
Track: ‘Perfect World’ by Gossip
Average grade: 5.7
Craig: Though it’s been done before, this is ’80s rock chic perfection. The guitar licks are clean and the synths give the song just enough danceability to not scare away the crowd on the dance floor at the gay bar. Let’s face it, that’s where this song is going to go over the best. Ditto’s voice is spot on as well–so breathy and full of soul. She’s not shy and definitely is not afraid to get a bit Joan Jett-y/Pat Benatar-ish. All in all, this is an entertaining song that makes up in soulfulness what it may lack in originality. 7/10
Anna: Ditto’s vocals aside, this seems to lack all the big things that make Gossip who they are. Packing no punch and featuring no interesting chords, this sounds like a deflated, ’80s version of Gossip rather than the real thing. 5/10
Stuart: This is actually better than you’d think. Obviously established fans of Gossip will already love it, the bridge has got a great hook and Beth Ditto sounds as strong as ever – it’s just a shame that it runs out of ideas and sinks into repetition far too soon. A “stand up for the key change” moment would give this a real kick. 6/10
Linda: There are few women out there who can boast a voice like Beth Ditto. Similarly, there are few women who could have pulled off a track like ‘Standing In The Way Of Control’ quite like she did. This track however, could have been song by any up and coming starlet. It completely lacks the attitude and danceability of their previous albums. Ditto does pull it off quite nicely, solely on character, but I’d like to hear something a bit more challenging from Gossip. 5/10
Stef: That ‘oohh-ooh-hoo-oohh’ is terrible, but the rest I quite like actually. It packs a punch in a different way, not with the rock-y vibe, but definitely with her vocals. With that said, there’s only gear here, and that is full throttle, and they do go full 80s with the fade-out. I also think that this could’ve been an obscure 80s band just as easily as the new track by Ditto and co. With that said, I don’t mind listening to it, I’m just not sure if I would put this one on if I’m in the mood for this kind of music or if I would put on some ’80s synth mixtape. 5.5/10
