Like so many bands who broke up and eventually reunited, getting on-stage and playing music together again was a balm for Gossip's soul. At the end of their 2019 tour celebrating Music for Men's tenth anniversary, Beth Ditto, Nathan Howdeshell, and Hannah Blilie discovered that their chemistry was potent enough to bring them back to the studio; a dozen years after 2021's A Joyful Noise, Real Power reveals that they still have plenty to say. The trio also reunited with producer Rick Rubin, who helped make Music for Men one of the group's finest blends of punk, disco, soul, and pop. Once again, he knows how to bring out their finesse as well as their firepower. The warm, roomy sound of songs like the stomping opening track "Act of God" heightens the raw intimacy when Ditto wails, "Every beat of my heart/Is a merciful act of god." It's no surprise that she still sounds great on the title track's thundering, anti-establishment anthem, which connects the dots between Gossip's place within disco's legacy of queer expression and the style's 2020s revival with flair and heart. However, it's refreshing that Ditto and company don't just revisit their glory days on Real Power. "Crazy Again"'s head-over-heels new wave reveals a sweetly unguarded side that they expand on with "Light It Up" and "Edge of the Sun"'s reflections on how the search for true love doesn't end with youth. Frequently, Real Power's introspective moments are just as gripping -- if not more so -- than the driving ones. "Turn the Card Slowly" reaffirms Ditto's expertise with sweeping ballads, while "Tough" sings the praises of vulnerability and showcases Howdeshell's guitar prowess with playing that ranges from searing solos to a bittersweet twang. On Real Power, Gossip don't try too hard to recapture the past or fit in with the sound of the sound of the 2020s, and that's what makes it a dignified, down-to-earth return. ~ Heather Phares