There’s probably no greater example of mainstream crossover than the slightly awkward moment when an Idol contestant tackles a song written by an indie soul/punk band. Let alone a song written by an outspoken gay, feminist icon like The Gossip’s Beth Ditto. While you can only wince at the idea of the scripted insult Kyle would have delivered to Ms Ditto, one thing was clear: the Gossip have broken through Down Under.

Sure, Beth also toped last year’s NME cool list, then (in)famously nuded up for their cover and the band play sold out shows across the globe including closing this years Glastonbury Festival. But all that pales in comparison to the idea of a taking centre stage during the prime time comedy of ‘Idol’. When you make Idol; you’ve really made it.

So once you’ve broken through, how do you attempt to satisfy an ever increasing fan base without any new material? Well there’s the upcoming Australian tour. But what else? Um… how about an end of year remix compilation that conjures twelve tracks out of just three original tunes. Welcome to Gossip RMXD.

Remix compilations tend to bring out cynicism in much the same way as Idol does, with accusations of cash-ins and the ever poplar refrain ‘what was wrong with the original?’ Gossip RMXD bravely tests fan’s wallets by offering up three versions of Jealous Girls, four of Standing in the Way of Control while Listen Up! gets special treatment with five revisits. The visitors include New Young Pony Club, Arthur Baker, Soulwax and le Tigre, so there’s plenty of talent dropping by, but by the end of the disc it feels like one of those parties when the repeat button had jammed on the only CD player in sight.

There are no real duds on display – though after a few listens it may become difficult to separate between version one and version two, or three, or four, or even five. Though some mixes do rear their heads above the blur. From the same school of typography as the collections compilers, MSTRKRFT deliver a mix of Listen Up! as striped back as their name, making it into a cowbell and hand clap workout. Soulwax take the other tack giving Control a heroic dose of steroids before hurling it into a wall of crashing cymbals and speaker stacks. Dolby Anol brings a little Chromeo style shine to Jealous Girls while Touch of Class take a few cues from Seven Nation Army and Wordy McRappinghood during their nine minute take on Listen Up!.

Others, like Twitch, aren’t so kind to the hosts. For unknown reasons Twitch’s mix burries the star attraction – Beth’s vocal – beneath a dull itch that never manages to claw its way to any payoff. But no one really manages to improve on the original versions.

Thankfully Justice have resisted any pressure to issue D.A.N.C.E R.E.M.I.X.E.D, leaving the trainspotters and completists to make their own compilations with the aide of white labels and Hype Machine searches. But the Gossip have made it big, and if the cover shot’s any indication, they intend to have their cake and roll in it too.