Gwen Stefani’s early solo work slotted into a vibrant era of pop music, with the infectious energy and bold attitude of songs such as Hollaback Girl and What You Waiting For? offering a refreshing extension of her latter-day work with No Doubt. If her new album is anything to go by, though, the past couple of decades have eroded the rebellious spirit that once defined her music.
While ‘Bouquet’ showcases her vocal strengths, it’s generally subdued and lacking in the edge that made her a pop icon. Instead, it retreats into the safe ground of nostalgia, paying homage to the music of the ‘70s and ‘80s that helped to shape her sensibilities.
Her signature rasp can still convey emotional depth, but while many songs reach for genuine sentiment, the lyrics tend to lack substance, creating moments that feel disconnected and inauthentic. Pretty is a prime example of this problem.
Exploring self-perception and the transformative power of love, it finds Stefani admitting that she has never really recognised her own beauty until she experienced the affection of her husband, Blake Shelton, who’s a near-constant presence on ‘Bouquet’. But it’s both upbeat and flat, with superficial lyrics that make a potentially heartfelt track lack genuine passion and intimacy.
Equally, Marigold’s reflections on feeling lost before finding love, while heartfelt, come across as formulaic. “I thought the garden died / But I guess those tears we cried / Helped bring us back to life / And now we’re laying on a bed of marigolds,” Stefani sings, offering recycled sentiments in place of any new revelations.
Purple Irises — a disjointed attempt to blend pensive lyrics with a pulsating dance beat — oscillates between identities, never fully committing to either. Stefani and Shelton's vocals, typically powerful and expressive, are swallowed by dense production, rendering their performances indistinct and slightly forgettable.
There is the odd highpoint amid it all. The opening number and lead single Somebody Else’s neatly blends country and pop-rock with infectious melodies and heartfelt words. Here, Stefani does manage to uncover some artistic nuance as she explores a toxic relationship. Its powerful chorus is liberating, capturing the feeling of breaking free.
From the very beginning, then, it’s evident that ‘Bouquet’ aims to explore a variety of emotions and experiences. Despite its ambitious intentions, the execution is lacking, missing the mark on many key aspects that could’ve elevated it to the sort of heights Stefani reached in her pomp.
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