Gospel Gossip
Sing Into My Mouth

Most great albums require multiple spins in order to truly grasp the scope of where they're going. Gospel Gossip’s debut, Sing Into My Mouth is no exception. Its 13 tracks range from well-developed songs to short Casio-keyboard drumbeat ditties to gritty, distortion-based instrumentals. Ultimately, the 45 minutes of shoegaze fuzz from these Northfield-based musicians is filled with promise.

The album’s first single, “Wind,” captures that New Wave dance-party-in-your-bedroom spirit while the synthesizer, reminiscent of New Order’s "Age of Consent," pokes out on the keys. It intertwines with guitarist and singer Sarah Neinaber’s mid-'90s, breathy college rock voice that shimmers subtly of Nena without the sickening cheerfulness. (Yeah, I’m talking “99 Luftballons” Nena.)

The more straightforward songs are what really shine through. The lithe, epic nature of the guitar hook on “Wire,” and the way that “Lucky Lemmings” swims—forcefully yet dreamily in a sea of melodic distortion—stand out among the more extended slowdrive jams. “Shadows are Bent” is filled with a sweet jangle of young-love hope and angst. While the music of Gospel Gossip can be abrasive, it can also be sweet as sugar, big and bold and in your face, and brave enough to be otherworldly and simultaneously nostalgic.

And it all goes out in a fury with the post-punk freak-out of “Mt. Virgil.” If this is a real mountain, be frightened. Beginning with Unicorn Basement’s Max Clark on vocals, it ends with creepy horror movie humming and merges into screams as Neinaber is either very angry or brutally murdered as a spaceship takes her body away.

Sing Into My Mouth might not be a cohesive listening experience; but what it lacks in general flow, it makes up for in musicianship, vision and ambition. These three—now four with the addition of a full time keyboardist—demand to be heard, and it’s difficult to turn it down and not pay attention. And that sounds like the definition of a successful record.

COMING UP: Gospel Gossip plays the CD release party for Sing Into My Mouth at the 7^th Street Entry on Thursday, December 13 with Maps of Norway, MC/VL, and Dragons Power Up. 8 p.m. 18+. $6.