FFWD Weekly
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CD Review by Aubrey McInnis NO DOUBT Return of Saturn Interscope · Third album from ska pop band. Gwen Stefani may look like a cartoon-cute Nintendo generation's answer to Blondie, but if the exasperated songs on Return of Saturn are as autobiographical as they sound, Stefani is still addled by being "just a girl." Every passing song reveals a burning desire to wipe off the makeup, stop spinning in emotional circles, relinquish birth control and become a housewife. Phew – doesn't sound like pop material, does it? With less ska and more symphonic interludes, No Doubt tinker with synthesized sounds and delve into "heavy" issues. But despite candy-coating those issues in a pop frame, the lyrics sound like grave, free-form poetry forced into a melody. Then again, with the ever charismatic Stefani singing the crap out of the tracks, buying the album for a punchy hit single like "Ex-Girlfriend" is fine, just as long as fans don't expect anything else on here to upstage it. 2/5

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