No Doubt. - Review - sound recording review

Interview, April, 2000 by Dimitri Ehrlich

Return of Saturn (Trauma/Interscope)

It only takes a single listen for the stomping chorus of "Ex-Girlfriend," the first track on this ambitious album, to burrow into your unconscious and stay there, wriggling like a tick deep into your memory--which is to say, it's a great pop song. The rest of the album attempts to expand beyond No Doubt's ska-rock roots, while lead singer Gwen Stefani uses the recording booth like a confessional. With smartly crafted melodies and lyrics that courageously expose jealousy, contradictions, and self-destructive urges, this album is a human, endearing listen and catchy as hell.