Gossip are back. ‘Real Power’, their first album in 11 years, comes out on March 22, and the second single sounds like that band you remember.
‘Real Power’ – the single in question – is one of those (very) good singles that Gossip knows how to make. Its chorus “give me real power, give me something real” is one of the most immediate of its career, and its danceable rock sound with synthesizers refers to the beginnings of Gossip as much as to The Rapture or even the B-52’s. They add some nice bells.
Sounding halfway between Gossip’s albums ‘Standing in the Way of Control’ (2006) and ‘Music for Men’ (2009), ‘Real Power’ continues to showcase the vocal power of Beth Ditto, always so anchored in rock. soul. It is not surprising that Ditto published a solo album based on that style.
The sound of ‘Real Power’ may be reminiscent of the New York underground rock era of the 2000s, the one documented by ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’ (2022). But, in reality, the song is dedicated to Washington DC, specifically to the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred in the city in the spring of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. That’s the “real power” for Gossip, “that people took to the streets to protest at a time when meeting with others could make you sick,” because people were aware that “the system was changing.”
‘Real Power’ celebrates the “power” of the people, like many other songs in history, putting dance at the center.
