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 (2012-05-11)
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

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