The Second Coming of No Doubt

posted in: Features • Pop • Rock

Let’s face it, sometimes the past should stay dead. But when an awesome musical artist fades from popularity, their fans later wonder, Where are they now?  You may not know it, but many artists you loved in the past are still hard at work writing new albums or preparing to tour once more.  Fortunately, you now have Second Coming to reintroduce you to some of your favorite acts of the last few decades and give you the scoop on what you can expect from them in the future!

THEN: Before the Spice Girls and the bubblegum pop princesses of the late 90s, Gwen Stefani was serving up her own brand of girl power. As lead vocalist of the ska band No Doubt, she brought her fearless fashion sense and formidable vocal ability to the world of pop. The band’s traditional ska sound on their debut album failed to deliver commercially, but the more polished sound of their 1995 record Tragic Kingdom was applauded by critics and fans alike. The GRAMMY-nominated record spawned monster singles like “Just A Girl,” “Don’t Speak” and “Spiderwebs,” placing No Doubt in the sweet spot of achieving mainstream success, while still staying true to their roots. The band followed up Kingdom with another GRAMMY-nominated record, Return of Saturn, which piggybacked off its predecessor in terms of sound. Just one year later, No Doubt released Rock Steady, which showed a sharp turn of musical direction with its dancehall and reggaeton-infused tunes. The album was a mega pop success, churning out the ubiquitous “Hey Baby,” “Hella Good” and “Underneath It All.”

NOW: The band began an unofficial hiatus in 2004 when Stefani began work on a solo side project that would eventually launch her to full-on pop star status. Following the success of both of her solo albums, Love.Angel.Music.Baby and The Sweet Escape, Stefani built an empire of music, fashion and beauty products. With Stefani out of the picture, the rest of No Doubt began work on their next album in 2008. They continued to do a few shows and a tour with Paramore, but it wasn’t until 2010 that the band were able to hit the studio to begin work on their upcoming record. In response to those criticizing their band for moving so slowly, Stefani told Rolling Stone, A lot of stuff happened during that time period. Marriages, babies and, for me, two records and two clothing lines. So if you really worked out the math, you’d be like, ˜Wow, you guys are going fast.'” The album has been recorded with DJs Diplo and Switch (collectively known as Major Lazer), which is leading many to believe that the album will have a futuristic dance/reggae vibe. The band is currently posting video updates to give their fans an inside look at the making of one of the most anticipated albums of the year.

Did you know: The iconic single “Don’t Speak” was written about the end of Stefani’s relationship with bassist Tony Kanal. Glad to see they worked things out!