Review: Beth Ditto – ‘I Wrote The Book’

After four studio albums with the seminal Gossip, Beth Ditto has decided to step out on her own with a new 4-track E.P, produced by English dance music troupe Simian Mobile Disco. ‘I Wrote the Book’ is the first result of this collaboration to be released, with the full E.P expected later this month.

Of course, most people know and love Ditto for her powerful, dynamic and unique voice, so you’d be forgiven for expecting some pretty interesting material from her first solo release. As the front-person for a three-piece ballsy rock and roll outfit, she has been a breath of fresh air amongst the usual, more predictable indie records clogging up the airwaves, and you can generally recognise her soulful howl within a few bars. Unfortunately, it is exactly that which brings about a sense of disappointment upon hearing this record.

Having heard she was to step directly into the spotlight as a solo artist you would be hoping to hear plenty of her trademark bellow and bluster, or maybe even that she may attempt a more sweet, softer direction and try a ballad-type number in order to test those unique vocals against another backdrop. What we have instead is neither here nor there, ultimately.

By bringing in SMD on production duties, she has clearly decided to go down the dance music route, which could yet prove to yield interesting results, but this track is so lifeless you may need to check yourself for a pulse halfway through! Against SMD’s mid-tempo, nodding groove she seems to lose a lot of her sexy snap and instead settle into a comfortable, almost spoken style in places. The song is also lacking any real hooks, with just the odd production flourish here and there to punctuate the rolling, ambling vibe. Beth’s warning to her lover that ‘Before you take a second look, remember I know every trick in the book’ sums up the ballsy lyrical direction of the song, which is more like what you’d expect from this most original of artists.

It’s not that this is a bad track; indeed it’s a perfectly acceptable piece of pop that proves the lady born Mary Beth Patterson is both ready and able to try something different on for size. Beth Ditto can produce some truly breath-taking moments that only she is capable of, the problem is this is definitely not one of them.

(David Page)