Texan Mosaic

by MATT MOLINAR/Opinion Editor

With the help of her bad girl, flirtatious sound, Gwen Stefani recently released one of her best albums yet.

Stefani has uncovered herself from the ruins of 2000’s pop and has returned to the charts with “This is What the Truth Feels Like.”

Ten years after the release of “Sweet Escape,” it seems that Stefani had fallen off the radar. But after her casting on “The Voice,” a reality competition show for singers, Stefani has produced enough music for all of the ‘90’s babies who have been missing her unique style to last them until her next phase.

In 2014, Stefani released the single “Spark the Fire,” and I honestly thought she was getting ready to drop an album. After a year and a half of waiting, she finally releases “Used to Love You” and announced her album.

Being a die-hard fan of Stefani’s “Love Angel Music Baby,” hearing the first track on the album, “Misery,” brought me back to my elementary school days when I would sing “The Real Thing” at the top of my lungs. I absolutely love this song. It definitely brings me back to her previous two albums. Although this song makes me extremely happy, it definitely isn’t my favorite from the album.

The next track on the album is “You’re My Favorite.” The intro to this song sounds too much like something Madonna put out a couple of years ago. But as soon as the chorus comes around, it’s definitely the old Gwen I’m used to hearing.

The next song on the album, “Where Would I Be?,” is definitely something we haven’t heard from Stefani before. It still has the same vocal styling as any old Stefani song, but it has a different beat. It’s almost reggae. But as the song progresses, you hear that good old ‘90’s schoolgirl-who-wants-to-beat-you-up voice. I definitely love this song, and I’m putting it on my Summer playlist this year.

“Asking for It” is the worst song on this album, hands-down. Fetty-Wap is the first thing you hear on the track. I still like the song, but I just cannot listen to the mess that is Fetty-Wap’s non-articulate singing.

“Make Me Like You” is a track on the album that I find is better to listen to live. After I saw the live performance on YouTube, this song has been stuck in my head. With Stefani and country artist, Blake Shelton’s recent relationship announcement still shocking the pop culture world, you can tell exactly what this song is about, and I absolutely love it. This song gives all hopeless romantics something to enjoy when fantasizing about the perfect relationship.

Two of the more intimate songs are “Truth” and “Used to Love You.” They both seem to be about Stefani’s ex-husband, Gavin Rossdale. They are breakup songs, and honestly, who doesn’t like to listen to a good breakup song? As depressing as the two songs can seem, based on lyrics, they are still pretty amazing songs to have at a party. I definitely wouldn’t mind doing the cabbage patch to this song.

Two of the songs on the album are rather risqué. “Send Me A Picture,” based on lyrics and my immature mind, has to be about sending bad pictures to each other. “Naughty” also can’t be about anything my sweet, Christian mother has taught me about. These are two songs on the album that I will skip if they start playing on my way to work.

“Me Without You” has to be my one of my favorite songs from this album. It’s also the track that I feel is not talked about enough. It seems like a basic love song, but it contains such relatable and beautiful lyrics Stefani sings about how everything about her life has suddenly gotten better after she divorced Rossdale. I think that is amazing, and I can truly appreciate the meaning behind the music.

The last track on the album, and also my favorite song from this year, so far, is “Rare.” Every time I hear the song, I have to start dancing. It’s such a beautiful song from the back track to the vocals. “I’m loving every second of it, don’t you know,” is something I am willing to get tattooed on my back. This song has such an emotional meaning behind it. Anytime Stefani writes a love song, it is always spot on, because she’s had so much experience with love.

Overall, this album is absolutely amazing. It brings me back to the beautiful place that was my childhood. Stefani chose the perfect time to release an album. I have to give “This is What the Truth Feels Like” five out of five stars.