Gwen Stefani revisits love and loss on her new album

GWEN STEFANI has kept her solo career separate from her job as frontwoman of the rock quartet No Doubt.

The band, formed in California when she was in her teens, has generally been the weightier music project.

Her solo work, on the other hand, has veered towards entertaining froth. Described by the singer as “glorified art-pop”, it encompasses kooky dance tunes and on 2006’s The Sweet Escape, an outbreak of yodelling based on The Sound Of Music’s Lonely Goatherd. But the past year has been one of huge upheaval for the platinum blonde star, 46, and those changes have had a major impact on her first solo album in a decade. A record of conflicting emotions, it reflects the pain of her recent divorce and the buzz of a new romance.

Out today, This Is What The Truth Feels Like deals honestly with the anguish of the past 12 months while bristling with defiance. Rather than wallow in self-pity, Stefani has soundtracked the turmoil with a mix of pop, R&B and dancehall reggae.

When it works, as on the sparkling singles Make Me Like You and Misery, it really works. But, perhaps unsurpris- ingly for an album written and recorded quickly as Stefani’s private life fell apart, there are times when it feels rushed.

Many of the best moments are inspired by Stefani’s relationship with new boyfriend Blake Shelton, a Nashville singer she met when both were judges on the American version of The Voice. The soulful title track and Make Me Like You address the complexities of finding romance on the rebound, while Misery, despite its gloomy title, is stripped back and upbeat.

“They don’t sell this feeling at the grocery store,” coos a love-struck Gwen.

It’s not all hearts and flowers, though and the collapse of Stefani’s 13-year marriage to rock singer Gavin Rossdale comes under scrutiny on Used To Love You.

Reiterating the shrinking divide between her solo work and her role fronting a band, there are songs that would sit comfortably on a No Doubt album, the most notable being Where Would I Be. It paves the way for Stefani’s next move, which is likely to be a return to her role in the group, who have already written music for a sequel to 2012’s successful album Push And Shove. – Daily Mail