No Doubt- Return Of Saturn

This is No Doubt's fourth album. It was released in 2000, five years after Tragic Kingdom.

I bought this album entirely based on one song: Ex-girlfriend. More specifically, I bought this album based on the bridge section of the song. Looking back all these years later, Ex-girlfriend is a passably catchy song, but it's pretty much throwaway pop fare. There's plenty of great hooks, but they just don't gel together very well. On the bright side, for some strange reason, I still really dig the piercing synth sound of the bridge.

Unfortunately, the feeling that the song has been awkwardly shoehorned together is quite common on this album. Simple Kind Of Life also has plenty of nice ideas, but it also somehow doesn't gel. And by the time we get to the ending, it's well and truly flogging a dead horse. Another poor effort is Artificial Sweetener, despite the fantastic power-pop chorus. Unfortunately, the verses are bland at best, and awkward at worst.

The unusual single Bathwater is a much better effort. I'm a big fan of the unusual - yet catchy - groove of the verses. For the first few appearances, the chorus appears as simple, bouncy fun. But then the chorus gets rolled out again and again, revealing itself as really not that special, so it soon grows stale. However, the rest of the song remains left-field pop fun.

Marry Me is perhaps a preview of the... ummm... rocksteady style of the following album, Rock Steady. It's not a particularly memorable song, but at least it is consistent and features mature composition. A minor quibble is that I find the narrative to be quite whiney.

Vintage No Doubt goodness makes a welcome appearance for New. Specifically, the energetic drive and subtle build-up, leading to a catchy crescendo. However, the pre-chorus goes a bit too "vintage". By that, I mean it channels the mish-mash composition of Beacon Street Collective. But, overall, a thoroughly enjoyable song with nice ebbs and flows.

Staring Problem's opening shows a lot of promise, but unfortunately the awfully amateur-hour chorus lets it down. Normally I'm a sucker for organ, but not even that can save this abomination! Sit Feet Under also feels like immature songwriting, however it the driving energy does work well.

On the other hand, Home Now is pretty rough at the start, but thankfully soon finds its feet. The highlight for me is the subtly menacing groove, which somehow reminds me of The Cure.

Favourite songs

Ex-girlfriend, Bathwater, New, Home Now

Worthwhile?

Overall, this album is a strange one. I'm not claiming the band "sold out", because I appreciate that a band needs to evolve stylistically; they can't be re-hashing Tragic Kingdom for the rest of their lives. And it's not for a lack of musical ideas, they're just not convincingly blended together into songs. The composition lacks the maturity, and is actually a backwards step compared with Tragic Kingdom. Also, the lyrical subjects lack variety and are often mundane.

Enough of my ranting... There's a few highlights, but overall it's a resounding "no". In fact, I have the sudden urge to grab Tragic Kingdom to wash the bad taste out of my mouth...