It's been five very long years, but No Doubt is finally back in action.
The southern California hit makers took an all too long hiatus in 2004 during which lead-singer Gwen Stefani embarked on a successful solo career. While Stefani was off Hollaback'in (see "Love.Angel.Music.Baby." for hit single "Hollaback Girl") and popping out babies with husband Gavin Rossdale of rock band Bush, the rest of the band - including guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, drummer Adrian Young, trumpet/keyboard player Stephen Bradley and trombone/keyboard player Gabrial McNair - began to work on new material.
The guys started writing new material in 2008 while Stefani was on the tail end of a tour to promote her second album. She was also pregnant with her second child at the time, so things were moving slowly. As of now, this album is still in the works, but it's set for release in 2010. Mark Stent, who helped produce No Doubt's 2004 album "Rock Steady," is the producer.
The album is sure to be one of the most hotly anticipated releases of 2009.This past summer, the fully reunited No Doubt hit the road for their first tour together in almost five years. They toured with opening bands Paramore, The Sounds, Bedouin Soundclash, Katy Perry and Panic at the Disco.
Unfortunately for fans eagerly awaiting what is sure to be some awesome new No Doubt material, they didn't have any songs off their new album ready to play. But their set was filled with their greatest classics. Gwen and the guys rocked out to "Spiderwebs," "Hella Good," "Hey Baby," "Running," "Just A Girl" and "Sunday Morning." They also proved they still had a softer side with "Underneath It All," "Rock Steady," "Simple Kind of Life" and "Don't Speak." Particularly with these slower, softer songs, No Doubt showed off a newfound maturity that they must have found over the course of their time apart.
They also brought out one semi-new song, a cover of Adam Ant's "Stand and Deliver." Back in May, No Doubt made a cameo on "Gossip Girl" in which they played this song. It's rumored that it will be appearing on their 2010 album, but these rumors have yet to be confirmed.
No Doubt's 2009 tour has been receiving great reviews across the country and proved that, even after five years apart, they are all still great performers. Their reckless abandon and palpable energy are infectious. They can also easily transition from their high-octane "I'm going to jump around while I play my instrument and make it look easy" performances into slower ballads that seem intimate even in a crowd of 20,000.
However, these moments are generally few and far between, because what No Doubt is good at, more than anything, is writing brilliantly energetic, upbeat songs and making them even better live. They have intense chemistry with each other and clearly draw a lot of their performance from each other. During a song on their 2009 tour, Gwen Stefani got down and did pushups as she sang while her band mates went crazy, doing flips mid-song, amongst other crazy antics.
2009 proved to be a good year for No Doubt, and 2010 will hopefully be even better. They have a great buzz going into their new album. As it seems they've returned to their roots this summer by playing more songs from their older albums "Tragic Kingdom" and "Return to Saturn" on tour, they should put out a great, inventive album. For further listening, check out the songs listed above, and also "Ex-Girlfriend," "New," "Excuse Me Mr.," "That's Just Me," "Open The Gate," "Bathwater," "Different People" and "Hey You."
