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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Standing In The Way Of Control
by The Gossip


8.8

based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Official Artist Site

This is the third LP for the Washington state punk trio.

LABEL:	Kill Rock Stars
RELEASE DATE:	24 January 2006
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Spin

Gut-wrenching, foot-stomping punk. [Feb 2006, p.87]

Entertainment Weekly

B+ Somebody has nearly DustBustered the "garage" right out of their gorgeously messy garage-rock sound. [27 Jan 2006, p.84]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Ditto can wail like a gospel singer with bugs under her skin, or quietly sing with an almost palpable vulnerability, and her range suits The Gossip's jagged, bluesy post-punk well.

Tiny Mix Tapes

Ditto and company take indie-rock in a direction many of its fans are not used to, in that the focus is mostly about the human voice and the way the musicians compliment the singer's attack.

NOW Magazine

Long-time fans might be a bit weirded out by the shift, but a few seconds hearing Ditto channel Peggy Lee on the smoky torch burner Coal To Diamonds should assuage their fears.

Urb

Positively sneers with attitude. [Jan/Feb 2006, p.94]

Magnet

Balances restraint and abandon in a near-perfect ritual tease. [#71, p.99]

cokemachineglow

They now play with a heads-down resolve that is thrilling.

Prefix Magazine

Think Au Pairs or Delta 5, but filtered through Bikini Kill and the Rapture.

Slant Magazine

The Gossip's melodies are infectious and their beats propulsive enough... to get the sk8er kids to drop the self-conscious posturing and dance a little.

Playlouder

To be honest this album has been down the pub all day; it doesn't care that you have to go to work in three hours time; it has just burst into your room and demanded the keys to your car and that bottle of Bombay Saphire you were saving for your birthday.

Q Magazine

Showcase[s] a band revelling in their powers, in thrilling control of their screeching rock 'n' roll abandon. [Mar 2006, p.107]

Uncut

[The Gossip] have evolved a blend of rough and impassioned garage-soul that owes as much to Tina Turner, Peggy Lee and The Ronettes as it does to Sonic Youth and The White Stripes. [Mar 2006, p.96]

New Musical Express

It's hard not to enjoy being alive while listening to this album. [25 Feb 2006, p.31]

Pitchfork

While the tight playing and vocal pyrotechnics are impressive, Ditto's narrow lyrical scope gets really redundant.

Stylus Magazine

Fun and frequently powerful.

Under The Radar

The Gossip's instrumentation could use some more low-end meat on its bones. [#12, p.91]

Drowned In Sound

While the songs on their third recorded set are confident, compositionally astute and capable of slotting into any indie-disco DJ’s mid-set surge towards an electric peak, they more often than not sound like the sum of parts, rather than the frenzied party jams deployed by the band at their scintillating live shows.

Rolling Stone

At times they try to get over with passion in place of proper tunes... but this is still a righteous, life-affirming ride.

Dusted Magazine

The group [is] at it's best when it stays close to it's R & B foundation. Standing in the Way of Control expands the Gossip's pallette, but the keepers here hug tight to the rump.

Mojo

Unfortunately, the disc highlights a new hole: storytelling. [Feb 2006, p.92]

No Ripcord

It’s confident and cohesive, but the precision may not be the Gossip’s ideal sound.

The New York Times

This is a transitional album: many of the songs seem underwritten without all that noise on top; sometimes it sounds as if the band is still trying to figure out what to do with its tense, restrained new sound. [23 Jan 2006]

The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

luke s gave it a9:
amazing

peety boy gave it a10:
this sucks.

tim e gave it a9:
Shes a whole lot of women and the grrl's got rythm

MandiD D gave it a9:
This album is by far there best.. its a crazy dancey punk album.. except that one sound.. coal into diamands... this album almost is as good as them live... but dam.. that girl can get a croud up and dancing.. this cd rocks my socks...

tim b gave it a10:
my favorite record of 2006 so far . . .

Stallion Arabhorse gave it a9:
The only reason it doesn't get a 10 is because I miss Kathy Mendonca's drumming...don't get me wrong, the drums are fantastic in a more supportive role, but rein in the power of this band a little too much...you can count the cymbal crashes on a couple of hands (compare this to their other records!) and they are buried in the mix...Kathy's drumming was an explosive and key element (and I loved the writing dynamic between the drums and guitars) and Hannah's are precise and dynamic in the right places, but a bit too 'subdued' for what these songs could sound like. Of course The Gossip are responsible for their own sound; I didn't want a repeat of any of their other records and welcome drastic departures (i.e., Le Tigre & Sleater-Kinney's latest records) but damn, I'm gonna miss Kathy--and I can't find anything regarding what happened to her. Beth is dead-on with her vocals as always and diversifies here...Nathan/Brace's guitars are still very groovacious but a bit toned down, less trebly and a little more 'loop'-oriented with notes vs. full chordal riffage. If I didn't have all their previous rec's to compare to, it'd have gotten a perfect 10.

Standing In The Way Of Control by The Gossip

Standing In The Way Of Control
by The Gossip