Gwen Stefani
This Is What The Truth Feels Like (Universal Music)
Breakdown: It’s been a long time coming and after a 10-year hiatus, pop star Gwen Stefani finally dropped her third solo album ‘This Is What The Truth Feels Like’. The album includes the hits ‘Used To Love You’, ‘Make Me Like You’ and the new single ‘Misery’ which sees the star open up on her recent divorce and new-found love with her The Voice co-star Blake Shelton.
How Many Good Tracks: 10 of the 17.
What I Liked: It’s not often that an artist releases such an honest, open, vulnerable piece of work in today’s pop music space. Gwen manages has said she used the creation process of this album as a sort of therapy to fully process her divorce and new romance. Lyrically, this is a very strong album and it’s an album that is bound to identify with millions of people around the world. This doesn’t mean that she doesn’t bring her fun side out. There is still a song or two that remind us of the old Gwen sound which will please her older fans as well. Gwen sounds better than ever and manages to pull off emotional ballads and fun pop songs effortlessly. This is her most genuine work to date and Gwen has grown so much as an artist over the years – something that is so beautiful to see.
What I Didn’t Like: I think Gwen needed to make this album more than we needed to hear it. The album has a collection of 17 songs which and the message, because her divorce and new romance is so high-profile, becomes almost too monotonous. Also, it’s important to note that this isn’t the Gwen Stafani from 10 years ago. There aren’t tracks like ‘Hollaback Girl’ this time around – but that’s okay. Growth in an artist is important.
Best Track: Misery
Rating: 3/5
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