Gwen Stefani
The Sweet Escape

Interscope/Universal

“I know you‘ve been waiting, but I been off making babies” coos new mummy Gwen Stefani on her Pharrell duet “Yummy”. But her fans would’ve happily waited a bit longer if she could have come up with another “Hollaback Girl”.

Despite bringing back the same songwriting partners, nothing on her second solo album carries that same pop kick, especially the odd, yodel-led first single “Wind it Up.”

Escape veers between decent dance-floor cuts such as the title track with rapper Akon and pop-rock ballads like “Early Winter,” but most songs wind up curiously bland (“U Started It”). Stefani even references her No Doubt days on “Orange County Girl”, but it serves to remind us Gwen was more interesting when she was, y’know, “just a girl”. She does end the album strongly though with ”Wonderful Life,” a retro-80s synth epic with subtle digi-beats, catchy chorus, and wonderful guitar work by Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore. That’s what we were waiting for.