A Joyful Noise (Gossip album)

A Joyful Noise is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Gossip. It was released on May 11, 2012, by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Xenomania founder Brian Higgins.

A Joyful Noise
Studio album by Gossip
Released	May 11, 2012
Studio	KBC (Portland, Oregon) Xenomania (Kent, England)
Genre	Dance-punk indie rock synth-pop alternative dance
Length	44:04
Label	Columbia
Producer	Brian Higgins Gossip
Gossip chronology
Music for Men (2009) A Joyful Noise (2012)
Singles from A Joyful Noise
"Perfect World" Released: March 13, 2012[1] "Move in the Right Direction" Released: June 29, 2012[2] "Get a Job" Released: April 5, 2013[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	60/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Clash	6/10[6]
Drowned in Sound	4/10[7]
Entertainment Weekly	B−[8]
The Guardian	[9]
The Independent	[10]
NME	3/10[11]
Pitchfork	5.9/10[12]
PopMatters	5/10[13]
Slant Magazine	[14]

A Joyful Noise received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 60, based on 24 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[4] Andy Gill of The Independent gave the album four out of five stars, writing that "the involvement of Brian Higgins on A Joyful Noise enables the group to break new ground with confidence".[10] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan gave the album three out of five stars and stated that "it's Girls Aloud producer Higgins to the rescue, with a sound influenced by Abba and Madonna. Having said that, Gossip—especially Beth Ditto, in waspishly fine voice here—seem very much at home with it."[9] However, Priya Elan of NME felt that "[g]ood moments are squandered by unsatisfying choruses and/or weak lyrics."[11] The Independent on Sunday's Simon Price expressed that after a few years of career, Ditto "already feels like a footnote", adding that the band pairing up with Higgins "should be a stroke of genius, but Higgins has caught Ditto & co at a point where they appear to have disastrously lost their fire."[15]

Commercial performance

A Joyful Noise debuted at number 100 on the Billboard 200, selling 5,000 copies in its first week.[16] In Europe, the album debuted at number 47 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 2,822 copies,[17] while reaching number one in Switzerland, number two in Germany, number three in France, number four in Austria and number eight in Belgium.[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Beth Ditto, Nathan Howdeshell, and Hannah Blilie, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Melody Emergency"	3:51
2.	"Perfect World" (writers: Gossip, Brian Higgins, Luke Fitton, Toby Scott)	4:27
3.	"Get a Job"	4:59
4.	"Move in the Right Direction" (writers: Gossip, Xenomania)	3:31
5.	"Casualties of War"	4:15
6.	"Into the Wild"	3:13
7.	"Get Lost"	4:07
8.	"Involved"	4:15
9.	"Horns"	3:45
10.	"I Won't Play"	3:19
11.	"Love in a Foreign Place"	4:22

European iTunes Store bonus tracks[19]

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Perfect World" (Rory Phillips Mix)	5:04
13.	"Move in the Right Direction" (Classixx Remix)	4:38
14.	"Perfect World" (video)	3:49

Amazon Germany digital bonus tracks[20]

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Heavy Cross"	4:02
13.	"Standing in the Way of Control" (live)	4:49
14.	"Listen Up" (live)	4:42

German extended edition bonus track[21]

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Seems So Bad"	4:03

German extended edition bonus disc[21]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Love Long Distance" (1LIVE in Dortmund)	4:21
2.	"Listen Up!" (1LIVE in Dortmund)	5:10
3.	"Melody Emergency" (1LIVE in Dortmund)	3:59
4.	"Men in Love" (1LIVE in Dortmund)	3:37
5.	"Get a Job" (1LIVE in Dortmund)	4:52
6.	"Perfect World" (RAC Mix)	4:13
7.	"Perfect World" (Seamus Haji Remix Radio Edit)	3:04
8.	"Perfect World" (Playgroup Nude Mix)	8:06
9.	"Move in the Right Direction" (CSS Remix)	4:02
10.	"Move in the Right Direction" (Seamus Haji Radio Edit)	3:53
11.	"Move in the Right Direction" (Gossip vs Kaz James Remix)	6:34
12.	"Get a Job" (Peter Rauhofer Remix)	8:47
13.	"Get a Job" (Scissor Sisters Remix)	6:14
14.	"Get a Job" (Wankelmut Remix)	7:21

Japanese edition bonus tracks[22]

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Perfect World" (RAC Mix)	4:14
13.	"Move in the Right Direction" (Classixx Remix)	4:38
14.	"Perfect World" (Seamus Haji Remix)	6:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Joyful Noise.[23]

Gossip Beth Ditto – vocals Hannah Blilie – drums, percussion Nathan Howdeshell – live bass, guitars, keyboards, programming Additional musicians Jeremy Sherrer – additional percussion Brian Higgins – additional programming (all tracks); additional composition (track 4) Luke Fitton – additional programming Owen Parker – additional programming Toby Scott – additional programming (all tracks); additional composition (track 4) Matt Gray – additional programming Joshua Jenkin – additional programming Sam Martin – additional programming Jerry Bouthier – additional programming Andrea Gorgerino – additional programming Fred Falke – additional programming (all tracks); additional composition (track 4) Jason Resch – additional programming (all tracks); additional composition (track 4) Kieran Jones – additional programming (all tracks); additional composition (track 4)

Technical Brian Higgins – production (all tracks); mixing (tracks 4–7, 9–11) Gossip – additional production Toby Scott – special production assistance, engineering (all tracks); mixing (tracks 4–7, 9–11) Jeremy Sherrer – engineering Ben Taylor – recording engineering assistance Matt Gray – mixing (tracks 4–7, 9–10) Rich Costey – mixing (tracks 1–3) Chris Kasych – logic engineering (tracks 1–3) Serban Ghenea – mixing (track 8) John Hanes – engineering for mix (track 8) Phil Seaford – engineering assistance (track 8) Tom Coyne – mastering Artwork Rankin – photography Mike Larremore – additional photography Jeri Lynn – art direction

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012) Peak position Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[24] 10 Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 35 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 4 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 8 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[27] 14 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[28] 87 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[29] 37 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[30] 35 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 44 French Albums (SNEP)[32] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[33] 2 Greek Albums (IFPI)[34] 39 Irish Albums (IRMA)[35] 66 Italian Albums (FIMI)[36] 48 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[37] 34 Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 51 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39] 38 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[41] 47 US Billboard 200[42] 100 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[43] 20 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[44] 35

Year-end charts Chart (2012) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[45] 53 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[46] 59 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[47] 92 French Albums (SNEP)[48] 62 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[49] 36 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 42

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[51]	Gold	50,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[52]	Gold	100,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[53]	Gold	15,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Edition	Label	Ref.
Germany	May 11, 2012	CD LP digital download	Standard	Sony	[21][54]
Ireland		CD digital download		Columbia	[55][56]
France	May 14, 2012	CD LP digital download		Sony	[57][58][59]
United Kingdom				Columbia	[60][61][62]
Australia	May 18, 2012	CD digital download		Sony	[63][64]
United States	May 22, 2012			Columbia	[65][66]
Japan	June 13, 2012	CD		Sony	[22]
Germany	November 2, 2012	2-CD digital download	Extended		[21][67]

References

1. "Perfect World: Gossip: MP3 Downloads". Amazon. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
2. "Move In The Right Direction by Gossip". 7digital (Ireland). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
3. "Get a Job (Remixes) – EP by Gossip". iTunes Store (France). Retrieved June 16, 2014.
4. "Critic Reviews for A Joyful Noise". Metacritic. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
5. Phares, Heather. "A Joyful Noise – The Gossip". AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
6. Levine, Nick (May 14, 2012). "Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Clash. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
7. Calvert, John (May 18, 2012). "Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
8. Markovitz, Adam (May 16, 2012). "A Joyful Noise". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
9. Sullivan, Caroline (May 10, 2012). "Gossip: A Joyful Noise – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
10. Gill, Andy (May 12, 2012). "Album: Gossip, A Joyful Noise (Columbia)". The Independent. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
11. Priya, Elan (May 15, 2012). "Gossip – 'A Joyful Noise'". NME. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
12. Ryce, Andrew (June 4, 2012). "Gossip: A Joyful Noise". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
13. Cober-Lake, Justin (May 21, 2012). "Gossip: A Joyful Noise". PopMatters. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
14. Henderson, Eric (May 21, 2012). "Gossip: A Joyful Noise". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
15. Price, Simon (May 13, 2012). "Album: Gossip, A Joyful Noise (Columbia)". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
16. Caulfield, Keith (June 1, 2012). "Chart Moves: Kimbra Debuts in Top 20 on Billboard 200, McCartney's 'Ram' Returns". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
17. Jones, Alan (May 21, 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: UK suffers lowest album sales week since 1996". Music Week. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
18. "Ultratop.be – Gossip – A Joyful Noise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
19. "A Joyful Noise by Gossip". iTunes Store (UK). Retrieved May 26, 2012.
20. "A Joyful Noise (inkl. Bonustracks / exklusiv bei Amazon.de): Gossip: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon (Germany). Retrieved December 4, 2017.
21. "Gossip – A Joyful Noise – Extended Edition" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
22. ア・ジョイフル・ノイズ [A Joyful Noise] (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
23. A Joyful Noise (liner notes). Gossip. Columbia Records. 2012. 88691982652.CS1 maint: others (link)
24. "Ranking Semanal Pop" (in Spanish). Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers. May 20, 2012. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2013. Note: Reader must define search parameters as "Ranking Semanal Pop" and "20/05/2012".
25. "Australiancharts.com – Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
26. "Austriancharts.at – Gossip – A Joyful Noise" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
27. "Ultratop.be – Gossip – A Joyful Noise" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
28. "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
29. "Danishcharts.dk – Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
30. "Dutchcharts.nl – Gossip – A Joyful Noise" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
31. "Gossip: A Joyful Noise" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
32. "Lescharts.com – Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
33. "Offiziellecharts.de – Gossip – A Joyful Noise" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
34. "Top-75 Albums Sales Chart – Εβδομάδα 20/2012" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
35. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 20, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
36. "Italiancharts.com – Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
37. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
38. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
39. "Spanishcharts.com – Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
40. "Swisscharts.com – Gossip – A Joyful Noise". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
41. "Gossip | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
42. "Gossip Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
43. "Gossip Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
44. "Gossip Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
45. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2012". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved August 1, 2015.
46. "Jaaroverzichten 2012 – Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
47. "Rapports Annuels 2012 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
48. "Top Albums annuel (physique + téléchargement + streaming) – 2012" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
49. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2012" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
50. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2012". swisscharts.com. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
51. "French album certifications – Gossip – A Joyful Noise" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. October 24, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
52. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gossip; 'A Joyful Noise')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
53. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Gossip; 'A Joyful Noise')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
54. "A Joyful Noise: Gossip: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon (Germany). Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
55. "A Joyful Noise – Gossip (CD)". HMV Ireland. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
56. "A Joyful Noise by Gossip". 7digital (Ireland). Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
57. "A joyful noise – Gossip – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
58. "A joyful noise – Gossip – Vinyle album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
59. "A Joyful Noise: Gossip: Téléchargements MP3" (in French). Amazon (France). Retrieved June 16, 2014.
60. "A Joyful Noise [CD]: Gossip". Amazon (UK). Retrieved December 4, 2017.
61. "A Joyful Noise [Vinyl]: Gossip". Amazon (UK). Retrieved December 4, 2017.
62. "A Joyful Noise: Gossip: MP3 Downloads". Amazon (UK). Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
63. "A Joyful Noise". Sanity. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
64. "A Joyful Noise by Gossip". zdigital (Australia). Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
65. "A Joyful Noise: Gossip". Amazon (US). Retrieved December 4, 2017.
66. "A Joyful Noise: Gossip: MP3 Downloads". Amazon (US). Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
67. "A Joyful Noise – Extended Edition: Gossip: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon (Germany). Retrieved December 4, 2017.