No Doubt - Return Of Saturn

180-gram double LP reissue

There's little question that No Doubt are best remembered for hit singles like "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl", which propelled their third album Tragic Kingdom to worldwide sales of over 15 million. They have also acted as the launching pad for lead singer Gwen Stefani's huge success as a solo artist.

On the Return of Saturn, originally released in 2000, the band has branched out from their California ska roots to new and different sounds, and the results are great. Return of Saturn, glides along that continuum of songcraft perfection. The band presents a cleaner, less apologist representation of their influences. They pull off some of the more difficult maneuvers of pure reggae, ground-pounding ska, and Cars-esque New Wave. Gwen Stefani, the fearless Orange County princess, belts a powerful pout, her Mae West-meets-Siouxsie Sioux vocal bravado the bungee cord that springs in between the band's retro tendencies and SoCal pop-punk attitude. It seems believable that she could stamp her foot and always get her way, but her self-deprecating confessions evade brattiness. Songs like "Bathwater" and "Ex-Girlfriend" reveal the singer's vulnerability to being hurt or dumped on, and the band's sense of humor and exploration (albeit firmly controlled) matches the songs' sentiments.