The Gossip Bears the Cross

The Gossip’s new album, Music for Men (ha!), is out June 22, and here’s the first single, “Heavy Cross.” And by “single” we mean “single,” and not just “song that great-but-obscure indie band has chosen to release first” — if you haven’t heard, Columbia is cutting the Gossip’s checks nowadays, meaning stakes are high. (Also notable: Rick Rubin produced the album, meaning Rick Rubin has once again worked with an artist on the label he runs.) So how does it sound? Pretty great! Beth Ditto swaggers and stomps her way all over the stuttering guitar line like she’s channeling 1977-era Stevie Nicks, which we’ve got a feeling will come off even better live. But is it a hit? We have no idea, and, right now, we don’t really care.