Gossip: Listen Up

The post-fem cavalry is here in the shape of Arkansas’ Gossip! ‘Listen Up’ surges with life: a sultry, cowbell-heavy manifesto for anyone who’s ever felt ugly, left out or – shock horror – ever wanted to think about more than where their next drink’s coming from. “Oooh, on the playground we learn so much more!”, yelps Beth Ditto, her voice full of sex and seduction. It’s more than emotive, more the result of a lifelong harvest of dead affairs and failed friendships. Which suggests that somewhere in the ether everyone from Huggy Bear to Deee-Lite are frugging along to such a gospel truth.