by: Charley (@ruperto2106)
Gwen Stefani and the boys are back!!! After 11 long years since Rock Steady with a new album, that while not exactly Tragic Kingdom it’s not exactly the aforementioned Rock Steady either.With Gwen at the helm, Toni Kanal on bass, Tom Dumont on guitar, and Adrian Young on drums, the album starts off with lead single “Settle Down”, a charged lead track that wets our appetite for what a lot of fans hoped would be a return to the classic No Doubt fans have come to know and love. Second track “Looking Hot” gives us an electronic beat and horns that conjure up the memories of No Doubt of old. My favorite track on the album is the title track “Push and Shove”. It starts off with a reggae/ska sound that soon turn into a slower track with guest vocals by Busy Signal and Major Lazer actually an already good track very strong. “Undercover” is as close as we are going to get to the No Doubt of yesteryear. Gwen’s vocals are at their best on this track. Other standout tracks are “Dreaming The Same Dream” and “Heaven”Sadly there are some ballads on this album such as “One More Summer”, “Easy”, and “Undone”. The band was in their early twenties when Tragic Kingdom was released, in their mid twenty’s on Return From Saturn, in their thirties for Rock Steady, and now in their forties for this album and people change. These songs show exactly how much they have changed with their lyrics and musical styles.I will give this album a surprising 4/5Check out the video for “Settle Down” below:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb_zZ3xItPI&w=560&h=315]