Otep - Generation Doom [Review]

Otep's latest album (the seventh album, to be more precise), Generation Doom, is easily the best Otep album yet, and with amazing releases in the past such as The Ascension and Smash the Control Machine, that's saying quite a lot. Generation Doom is filled with fierce energy; beautiful, catchy melodies; and even a couple of urban hip-hop moments. It's rare that I ever listen to music and love it right away; even some of my favorite albums of all time (Marilyn Manson's Eat Me, Drink Me; Björk's Vulnicura; Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded; etc.) took some time to grow on me. Generation Doom, however, floored me during my first listen. It's the most diverse Otep album yet, varying in both style and vocal range. The album opens with "Zero," one of the heaviest tracks on the album. This is kind of Otep's typical style - loud, distorted guitars and Otep's signature battle cry. Lyrics such as "Judge me how I'm living? Zero fucks given!" emulate Otep's typical rebellious message found in past songs such as "Rise, Rebel, Resist" and "Confrontation." The second track, "Feeding Frenzy," is a great follow-up because there is a pretty smooth transition. Otep's final vocal note on "Zero" seems almost to introduce the heavy intro of "Feeding Frenzy," and the first verse of "Feeding Frenzy" starts with "Walking up, don't give a fuck..." proving that this is still the angry and jaded rebel from the first track. The lyric "I am emtee..." (which I know is spelled that way from the lyrics printed in the album's booklet) is an obvious nod to the song "Emtee" from the debut album from 2002, Sevas Tra. Lyrically, the song seems to be calling out some sort of bully, saying that their process of attempting to weaken others makes them weak themselves (ain't that the truth?). This is another song that takes on Otep's usual signature sound, but it ends with an interesting interlude that sounds like a warped recording between two emergency responders, reporting "shots fired" and that the "suspect is down."

The third track is titled "Lords of War" and is the first track from the album that I heard, as it was available to stream earlier this year. Via her music and her writings such as her blogs, it has always been obvious to me that Otep is a bit of a pacifist when it comes to war. (Some of her music is urging listeners to go to war, but her idea of war is hardly the same as countries being at war with other countries, resulting in numbers of senseless deaths.) "Lords of War" makes that clear, as it is a heavy anti-war anthem. The chorus declares, "I'd rather be in battle than at peace. I'd rather be a wolf than a sheep. I'd rather be in battle than slaughtered like cattle. The weak can sleep while I scream." This sounds like the farthest possible thing from an anti-war song; it sounds like a battle cry, and indeed, it is, but the surrounding verses make it clear that Otep is cleverly declaring war against war. A person is, for example, going to war every time that they go to the polls and vote against a radical tyrant who clearly does not have humanity's best interests in mind. They are going to war every time that they petition for and/or donate to a peaceful cause. They are going to war every time that they use words (such as music, journal articles, blogs, books, etc.) as weapons. That's what I take away from the song, anyway. It ends with another spoken interlude, beginning with a child's cry and then a man rhetorically asking what it is about a child's cry that is so disturbing. The clip then seems to change to a man (who sounds suspiciously like Mr. Rogers) asking, "What about the child who comes from an inadequate home, or he gets no encouragement from his parents, or he doesn't have enough to wear, or he doesn't have enough to eat? He goes to school hungry."

The fourth track is a cover of Lorde's pop hit "Royals." When I first saw the tracklisting, I saw this on it, and it identified it as a Lorde cover, so I remember feeling really excited to hear it. It would certainly be interesting to hear Otep tackle a pop song, since covers in the past, such as of Nirvana's "Breed" and of The Doors' "Not to Touch the Earth" were of rock songs. It is, indeed, interesting, in that it surprisingly stays relatively true to the original while also being quite different from it. The fifth track, "In Cold Blood," is technically the album's first single (and features a music video that is unfortunately currently exclusive to Music Choice). This was the second song that I heard from the album, and I was instantly floored by its beauty. The song is a midtempo alternative rock song that is ultimately unlike anything Otep has ever done before. Otep sings in a low register that is difficult to describe but definitely a new style for her. The song has a dark, beautiful melody, and Otep has said that she wrote the song during a very dark time of her life. She also said that a lot of the album was written about her heart being broken, and this song seems to be a song that covers that, obvious in the lyric: "Something's wrong with me for thinking something's right with you." I really relate to this song on a deep level, and it's definitely a highlight on the album. The sixth track is "Down" and starts with an electric guitar playing what sounds a little bit middle-eastern to me, which plays throughout a majority of the song. "All my life, I was told that I was evil," Otep starts. Some of my favorite Otep songs are when Otep raps, and this is a song on which she is rapping. Otep has, like many true artists, been challenged in the past by people who don't understand her. This rap/metal gem seems to be a heavy middle finger to those people who have tried to keep her on a leash.

"God Is a Gun" starts with Otep in a low, quiet voice, broken up by a slamming guitar. Otep's vocals as well as the amazing lyrics both make this song memorable. She occasionally sings in a whimpery tone as if she's crying, which I love, and the lyrics are powerfully poignant (sure to stir up a storm by Christian fanatics if they hear it). The Manson-esque track sings of Christianity being an obstacle to equality and freedom: "God is a gun, and the bullets are free," she screams during the song's chorus. "The only religion I know," she confesses, "is dripping from my pen." This really enunciates one of the phrases by which true Otep fans live: Art saves. (The first Otep album, in fact, is titled Sevas Tra, which is "Art Saves" spelled backwards, and there is also a song on Smash the Control Machine titled "Serv Asat," an anagram of "Art Saves.") It is a powerful and also all-too-true account of people too often attempting to justify their hateful and bigoted views via Christianity, the sacred text of which does, indeed, fuel such beliefs. The eighth track on the album is definitely a highlight, a trappy, urban hip-hop track titled "Equal Rights, Equal Lefts." This is definitely the trappiest track that she has done yet, and I love it. The song specifically recounts a time when Otep was with an ex-girlfriend and was verbally harassed by a man: "He called me a dyke; I called him an ambulance," she raps over an urban beat. "Your ego's been deflated," she observes, meaning that one reason why the man was made so uncomfortable seeing Otep with a woman was because the woman was with her, not him. More generally, however, the song is a battle cry against people who try to keep the LGBTQ+ community oppressed: "Love is love; you can't be stopped," she declares. Otep has spoken out during livestreaming about this song, saying that the record label didn't want to promote it because they're a rock label and the song is a rap / hip-hop track. This is nonsensical to me for many reasons, but let's not have that discussion here.

"No Color" opens with a slow, bluesy guitar riff that reminds me of the intro of "My Confession" from Sevas Tra. The song is a heavy and catchy breakup song (that I can totally hear on mainstream rock radio) that recounts how it feels to have a broken heart (according to my interpretation at least). "Why can't I see any color at all when I think about those days?" she sings in her typical low register. There is a break near the end of the song during which she sings in her aforementioned whimpery tone: "I think I thought, but I forgot. I think I think too much. I have a problem for every answer." The song ends with another interlude, this one spoken by Otep herself about how losing people is merely a part of life: "Life happens... people you've known for a long time suddenly become your enemies..." This is a great segue into the next song, "Lie," which is another one of my absolute favorites. This is definitely one of the poppiest tracks on the album, featuring one of the most catchiest choruses that I've ever heard. It's an alternative rock song reflecting on a failed relationship: "It felt so good, but it never felt right," she reflects. The chorus tells the person that they are a pathological liar, having lied directly to her and behind her back, until she finally saw their true colors and discovered the truth. This song certainly hits a central part of home for me, and it's definitely an empowering anthem for me. The title track is probably the heaviest track on the album and is one of the biggest middle fingers that I have ever seen toward the "generation doom," people who have betrayed her, lied to her, belittled her, etc. It is a strong track but pales in comparison to brilliant highlights like "In Cold Blood," "Equal Rights, Equal Lefts," "Lie," and "On the Shore," which marks a good place to discuss "On the Shore."

"On the Shore," in some ways, closes the album, since the following tracks are bonus tracks. "On the Shore" is the softest song on the album, a soft alternative rock song that Otep has explicitly said is about her heart having been broken. The song features a beautiful, angelic melody, and the lyrics speak of moving past the grief that someone has caused: "No longer living under your command. Gonna sleep well, sleep tonight on the shore beneath a gentle sky." In keeping with the lyrics, the melody of the chorus sounds almost like a soaring lullaby. It is one of the most beautifully written songs that Otep has ever written and recorded and is comparable to one of my favorite Otep songs, "Perfectly Flawed" from the 2007 album The Ascension. Many of the extra tracks are spoken word poems, acoustic versions, and an electropop remix by Jonny Dope of "On the Shore." There is one extra song, though, titled "More Fire." This is a heavy song, but like "Equal Rights, Equal Lefts," it does feature a trappy beat. The song angrily calls the listener to action, to "fight with fire." "...Passion burns brighter than the darkness of hate," she reasons. The song is also similar to "Equal Rights, Equal Lefts" in that it paints a picture of the beauty of love juxtaposed against the ugly obstacles that it faces - opposition, hatred, bigotry, discrimination, ignorance, and so forth.  As I said, this is easily the best Otep album to date. I would have previously said that The Ascension was my favorite, and that is, of course, still a very special album to me, but Generation Doom definitely trumps it. It's even better than I was expecting, and it is very diverse. Madonna's most recent album is titled Rebel Heart due to the supposed juxtaposing rebellious yet heartfelt tone of it. That would have definitely been an effective title of Generation Doom, as it features a tough warrior but also a very vulnerable human being on it. With heavy middle-finger anthems, devastating songs about heartbreak and grief, and beautiful melodies alongside powerfully profound lyrics, how could this not immediately hook me and take its rightful place as best Otep album so far?

Troye Sivan - Blue Neighbourhood [Review]

I think that I was looking through a music site several months ago when I discovered Troye Sivan, and my only regret now is that I didn't discover him sooner. For years, Sivan has been a bit of a YouTube celebrity with his lighthearted and humorous vlogs and even played young Wolverine in the opening scene of the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He has also been making music for several years with releases such as the June Haverly EP and the TRXYE EP. Blue Neighbourhood is Troye's debut full-length effort, however, and what an incredible debut that it is! Sivan presents us with a very sophisticated sound that, in some ways, goes way beyond his twenty years. Fans of artists such as Coldplay, The Fray, Lana Del Rey, Sam Smith, and Adele will definitely find something to enjoy here. The album opens with one of the more playful, energetic tracks on the album, "WILD." "WILD" opens with children chanting the title of the song followed by Sivan's smooth, velvety voice with the first verse: "Trying hard not to fall on the way home..." The song is the first music video released from the album, the first in a series of three music videos known as the Blue Neighbourhood trilogy. The song is a mid-tempo soulful pop song about the excitement of forbidden love. In the bridge of the song, Sivan recites the album title: "Leave this blue neighbourhood."

The album's second track is "BITE," which is definitely my favorite song from the album. The song has a dark, electronic, almost industrial vibe to it with Sivan's reverberating voice requesting that his pursuer "kiss me on the mouth, and set me free," followed by the condition, "...but please don't bite." The song's ridiculously catchy melody is fueled by the song's unique electrically surged beat, punctuated by what sounds like a gun being loaded. This was the first song to hook me and, as I said, remains my favorite. Sivan has said that the song is about his first adventure to a gay club, feeling vulnerable to a hungry crowd who may simply want to use him. The song is about putting trust in someone and can really be interpreted that simplistically (making it more relatable), since there really are no direct references to a gay club. The album's third track, "FOOLS," opens with a soft piano melody, with Troye quickly chiming in about feeling trapped in a place that doesn't seem to change (in keeping with the album's title). The song, which quickly becomes more upbeat and heavily electronic, is very much about unrequited love, as Troye has confirmed himself. He has also said on his YouTube channel that he wrote the song during a time when he was feeling sorry for himself because he felt that because he is so busy and travels so much, he is unloveable. The song is the second music video released from the album and the second installment in the Blue Neighbourhood trilogy.

"EASE," which features vocals from the New Zealand siblings duo Broods, is a mid-tempo track which begins with a heavy beat that sounds like clapping. The verses feature Troye half-singing and half-speaking about the issues that always being away from home presents. "...my mommy, she can't put down the phone and asking how I'm doing all alone," he sings. The song is about finding comfort in loneliness and reminiscing on good memories that, as the title of the song says, put you at ease. "THE QUIET" is a mid-tempo electropop song that lyrically makes me think of Depeche Mode's downtempo 1990 synthpop hit "Enjoy the Silence," as it is basically its antithesis. Whereas Martin Gore's song talks of thriving in silence because silence prevents hurtful things from being said, Sivan pleads with the target of his song to say anything at all because "anything hurts less than the quiet." "DKLA" (which stands for "Don't Keep Love Around" - I'm honestly not sure why he abbreviated it like that) is a highlight on the album, definitely one of my favorites. This song is one song on the album that really reminds me of another one of my favorite musicians, Lana Del Rey, as it features a soft, summery sound similar to hers. Troye has stated that this is the darkest song on the album, and I would have to agree, both musically and thematically. It is about reaching an impasse in a relationship and not knowing what to do about it because you care about the person too much to call it off. "What do I do now?" Troye wonders. The song features a rap verse from Tkay Maidza, and normally, whenever there is a rap verse on a pop song, my thought is "Yikes! Can someone please make a solo version?" This verse is amazing, though, and may even be my favorite part of the song.

"TALK ME DOWN" is another one of my favorite songs on the album, featuring a memorable, beautiful melody that soars downward. The song works almost as a follow-up to "DKLA" (which is why I love its placement), as it deals with the aftermath of the breakup that Troye foresees and fears in "DKLA." Troye sings of missing his ex-lover but not wanting sex from him, simply wanting to literally sleep with him and hold hands with him, innocent physical gestures that show a person that you love him more than sex ever could. The song is heartbreaking from that perspective and highly relatable for me. "TALK ME DOWN" marks the third and final installment of the Blue Neighbourhood trilogy, featuring a dark, tragic, and heartbreaking conclusion to the story (I won't spoil it). "COOL" is actually one of my least favorite songs on the album (although I don't dislike it, as the whole album is really great). The synths in it give it an '80s synthpop sound, and lyrically, the song is somewhat like Madonna's "Material Girl" in that even though it talks of typical celebrity behaviors such as having sex, smoking, drinking, traveling to expensive places, etc., that are considered "cool," the meaning is really meant to be ironic because Troye is a celebrity yet probably doesn't live his life like that at all. There really is no way to ever truly be "cool" because it's a socially constructed concept, and what's "in" changes on a regular basis.

"HEAVEN" features vocals from Betty Who, who, like all of the featured musicians on the album, I had never heard of prior to hearing this album. Troye has stated that the song, which is a slow, downtempo pop-rock song, is about the unfortunate reality that is the clash that being LGBT+ tends to have with Christianity. It deals with the hardship of coming out of the closet due to having been taught by one person and/or another that your sexuality is wrong and sinful. "Without losing a piece of me, how do I get to heaven?" Troye asks. The song is so painful and sad in that regard because so many LGBT+ people, especially youth, struggle with this guilt, wondering how they can solve the difficult dilemma of being themselves but also being loved and accepted by loved ones. I hope that the song will be a single because I can picture it having a really touching, emotionally wrenching music video to be released alongside it. "YOUTH" is one of the catchiest, most upbeat songs on the album and is the fourth music video to be released from the album, the first music video to be released as a one-shot video not affiliated with the Blue Neighbourhood trilogy. The song and the music video are both about the pains and joys of growing up and how sometimes having fun means making mistakes from which lessons are learned. I was out at a Denny's restaurant once recently and got happily excited because I heard this song playing there, making it the first (and so far only) time that I have heard Troye in public.

"LOST BOY" is another upbeat synthpop song addressed to a lover. The song seems to be a breakup song, with lines like "I'll leave you one last kiss on your pillow before I fly away" (with flying away an obvious parallel to Peter Pan, as the title of the song suggests). Although I definitely support Troye as a human being and as a songwriter, I can't say that I really relate to or even support the meaning of this song. "Yeah, we knew from the beginning that this wasn't never-ending. Shouldn't stay too long 'cause we're both too young to give into forever," Troye reasons with his ex-lover (or possibly lover, soon to be ex-lover; it isn't completely clear whether or not the breakup has happened yet). The message that I get from this song is that even though he is in love with the other person, he isn't ready to settle down because he's young and wants to go on more adventures (making it a good follow-up track to "YOUTH"). It reminds me a bit of Marina and the Diamonds' song "I'm a Ruin," when she declares that "I've had my share of beautiful men, but I'm still young, and I want to love again." This is, of course, where the Peter Pan analogy comes from, as Peter Pan is a literary character who does not want to ever embrace aspects and responsibilities of adulthood and therefore stays forever young. I think that youth doesn't need to mean sexual and romantic adventure, though; it can very well mean commitment and being happy with one person and one person only, but everyone is different, I suppose, and like I said, I support Troye, and this could simply be how he felt at one point in time about one person in particular.

The next track on the album, however, is really the opposite of "LOST BOY" on a thematic level. Interestingly, whereas all of the album's song titles are in all caps, this song title is in all lowercase letters, as the song is titled "for him." The song is catchy and is probably the most mainstream and poppiest record on the album, but it's also one of my favorites. I love the catchy, upbeat sound and the sweet meaning of the song, which is that there are a number of ways to show a person that you love them without even telling them that you do, which is via physical (although not necessarily sexual) gestures and looking out for them. The song features a rap verse by Allday, yet another artist that I hadn't heard of prior to being exposed to this album. Although I'm not necessarily overly impressed by the rapping, I do love its nod to one of my favorite bands, Panic! at the Disco. The following track is "SUBURBIA" and is another one of my favorites, starting with a beautiful instrumental intro possibly played on a keyboard. The song is another one that is in keeping with the title of the album, evident in lines like "...there's so much history in these streets." It's also obvious that the song is about the same place that he describes in "FOOLS" (which he has identified as his hometown, Perth): "They all say that nothing ever changes." Like "FOOLS," Sivan describes this place (this blue neighbourhood) as a place where things stay the same and don't develop, something that I think is typical of small suburban areas.

"TOO GOOD" starts with a simple piano part, and although the song does bring in some electronic elements and eventually a soulful, bluesy electric guitar, it really stays on a quiet, relaxed note for the most part. The piano-driven track is similar to "DKLA" in that it expresses fear that a relationship is reaching its end. "BLUE" is a slow downtempo song that, like "TOO GOOD," is piano-driven. It also thematically deals with a relationship failing. Different from songs like "DKLA" and "TOO GOOD," however, Troye remains positive, saying that he wants to be the green light to his lover's red light, even if it means being sad (and blue) like his lover is. It's a meaningful song in that love really should involve empathy to a certain extent, and we really should make a solid effort to understand our lover's feelings. "...anything it takes to make you stay," they desperately plead. I say "they" because the song features vocals from Alex Hope, with whom Troye has previously worked on his TRXYE EP, since she co-wrote his song "Fun" from that EP. She kind of dominates the song, featuring more in it than he even does, and their voices together are heavenly lulling, sounding so beautiful together. The soft, sedated melody of the chorus reminds me a lot of the song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, something that immediately came to mind the first time that I heard it, although I am sure that it is a total coincidence.

There is a remix of "WILD" called the XXYYXX remix featured on the deluxe version, which is interesting and completely different from the original version. The deluxe version closes with that remix, but the Target exclusive version of the album features two additional tracks - "SWIMMING POOLS" and a live acoustic version of the TRXYE EP single "Happy Little Pill" (one of my favorite songs from Troye's catalog, especially since it's one to which I really relate). In the summery "SWIMMING POOLS," Troye cleverly compares difficulties in life to waves in an ocean. We have to swim through life, and sometimes, we have the obstacles to get through that are waves. Troye longs to be swimming in a swimming pool, which contains calm water and no waves to have to get through. The live acoustic version of "Happy Little Pill" is a must-have for me (making the Target exclusive edition an absolute necessity) because, as I said, it is one of my favorite songs of his. All in all, Blue Neighbourhood is an incredible album that I am not likely to ever forget. Troye's beautifully soulful and velvety voice combined with the beautiful melodies and soft electronic beats make Blue Neighbourhood one of my favorite albums to play at night as I am ready to fall asleep. I think that Troye has a bright, incredibly promising future ahead of him and ahead of us, as well, and he is going to accomplish great feats; he, with this album, in fact, already has.

Gwen Stefani - This Is What the Truth Feels Like [Review]

Fans of the multi-genre musician Gwen Stefani unfortunately haven't been treated to much during the last decade. After her second solo album The Sweet Escape hit stores in 2006, it would be nearly an entire decade before Gwen would put out This Is What the Truth Feels Like, her third solo effort. Between December 2006 and March 2016 (the time span between the two albums), Gwen released Push and Shove (No Doubt's sixth studio album) in September 2012 and collaborated with artists like Eminem, Calvin Harris, and Maroon 5. She also, in late 2014, released two singles that were intended for her third album - "Baby Don't Lie" and "Spark the Fire" - both songs with which I fell in love, eagerly anticipating the new album. After Stefani's marriage to Bush and Institute's frontman Gavin Rossdale ended, however, the material that was prepared for the third album was apparently scrapped, and Gwen started from scratch. While I do think that that was probably a smart move, considering the fact that music that follows hardship and tragedy is usually really deep and meaningful, as a fan, I also feel a bit slighted knowing that there is material out there, possibly even an entire album's worth of material, that will probably never be released (cue to painful reminder of ARTPOP Vol. II), and I wish that she had released a double album or two albums like Lana Del Rey did with Born to Die and Paradise. Who knows, though? Perhaps, we will be treated to that material one day.

When I first saw the tracklisting of the album, I was sourly disappointed but not at all surprised that "Baby Don't Lie" and "Spark the Fire" were missing. I was disappointed because I love those tracks so much but not surprised because it had, after all, been more than a year since those singles had been released. Additionally, while I do think that "Baby Don't Lie" would fit on the album, not only musically but thematically, "Spark the Fire" definitely would not on either account. By the time that I had seen the tracklisting, I had heard the two new singles from the album, "Used to Love You" and "Make Me Like You," and remember thinking back to when "Used to Love You" was released and believing it to be the third single from the album when in actuality, it was the first. Soon after seeing the tracklisting, Gwen released the opening track "Misery" as a promotional single, which, as I think most people would probably agree, is one of the album's highlights. It's a fantastic opener to the album because it blends the pain of the recent divorce with hope for the future, which are really the two topics that the album tackles. The song is a mid-tempo pop-rock song with a ridiculously catchy bridge: "You're like drugs, you're like drugs to me. I'm so into you totally..." The song's opening lyrics - "Where'd you go? I got so used to bein' 'round you, boy. I'm tryin' not to care, but where'd you go?" - made some fans and/or critics alike confused as to whether the song was about Gwen's ex-husband, Gavin Rossdale, or her new love interest, country singer Blake Shelton. Gwen has apparently openly stated, though, that it is primarily about Shelton.

The album's second track is "You're My Favorite," which I loved instantly; it didn't even take a second listen to grow on me. It has a little bit more energy than "Misery" does, featuring an urban beat and a beautiful instrumental accompaniment that sounds like a blend between water dripping and a music box. It's definitely one of my favorites from the album. Lyrically, it is pretty simplistic, addressing her lover and telling him that despite everything that she has seen and experienced, he is her favorite because she finally feels like she has found what she has needed. "Where Would I Be?" is the third track and is definitely the most energetic of the first three tracks. The song is a fast-paced reggae dance track that combines elements of No Doubt's Rock Steady and '90s artists such as Ace of Base. Oddly, however, the song has a sudden break at the 2:00 mark that almost sounds like it doesn't belong in the song, as if the feed has suddenly switched to a different song. "Yeah, you're puttin' in overtime. I scored; you are the prize..." Gwen sings over the sound of a gym whistle blowing. It sounds like she is chanting a cheerleading tune, which, of course, harkens back to the smash hit from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. - "Hollaback Girl." A song about wondering how she would have recovered from her losses without her new love interest, it is yet another song that is obviously about Blake Shelton.

"Make Me Like You" is the album's second single and is another one that I pretty much loved instantly. An uptempo pop/dance track, this is another song that seems to harken back to mid-'90s pop and dance records. "Hey, wait a minute. No, you can't do this to me. Wait a minute. No, that's not fair," Gwen protests over the song's energetic beat. The song's chorus - "Why'd you have to go and make me like you? I'm so mad at you 'cause now, you got me missing you." - makes for another song whose target is a bit ambiguous. When I first heard it, I thought that it was about Gavin, but this is actually yet another song focused on her new love interest (as is a majority of the album). The fifth track on the album is, in some ways, the title track. Although the title of the song is simply "Truth," the chorus declares the album title in punctuated staccato notes: "This. Is. What. The. Truth. Feels. Like." This is actually one of my least favorite songs on the album, the first song of the first five tracks for which I don't really care. The song is a poppy soft rock song that explores the need to be honest in a new, freshly blossoming relationship. What I do love about this song is that it doesn't feel manufactured; it feels very much like journal notes translated to music, made evident by the long spew of syllables that some lines offer, which Gwen sings through quickly in order to beat the allotted measures. "...they're all gonna say I'm rebounding, so rebound all over me..." she sings in a half-singing, half-speaking tone. The song is honest about her feelings, which I like, but the melody takes no surprising or interesting turns, feeling rather uninspired.

The sixth track from This Is What the Truth Feels Like is the first single from the album, the heartbreakingly raw and honest "Used to Love You." According to one of the song's co-writers, Julia Michaels, the chorus's line "I don't know why I cry, but I think it's 'cause I remember for the first time, since I hated you, that I used to love you" was taken directly from Gwen's stream-of-consciousness journal on her computer. Michaels saw it and vehemently felt that it had to be included in a song, and "Used to Love You" was born and took flight from there. This is the first song that deals directly with the divorce, dealing with Gwen's feelings during the direct aftermath, which is evident in the song's realistic demonstration of grief - Gwen can't decide whether she's sadder or angrier. A highlight of the song is her self-empowering realization near the end of the song; whereas she had been singing "I thought I was the best thing that ever happened to you. I thought you loved me the most," she now assertively sings, "...I was the best thing that ever happened to you... now, look at what you lost." The song is one of the slowest songs on the album but appropriately so, and part of me wishes that a majority of the album had been like "Used to Love You," dealing directly with the divorce in a raw, intensely emotional manner rather than sidetracking that and focusing upbeat pop songs on the excitement of a new love interest (something that pop music is never about).

"Send Me a Picture" is another one of my least favorite songs from the album. Both melodically and lyrically, it feels rather superficial and uninspired. The song is a mid-tempo pop song that doesn't really go anywhere melodically, making no surprise turns, and the instrumental accompaniment feels rather generic. Lyrically, the song speaks of, for one reason or another, being physically apart from her lover and being impatient to see him, consequently asking him to, as the title of the song straightforwardly commands, send her a picture. There are definitely some suggestive lines, such as "Are you all alone, baby? Whatcha wearing? Send a little something I could stare at." Whereas "Send Me a Picture" is one of my least favorites (if not my least favorite), however, the next song, "Red Flag," is one of my favorites. The song is a fast-paced pop song with sheer catty attitude, over an urban hip-hop beat, and it deals with Gwen realizing that there were numerous red flags that she ignored during her marriage to Gavin Rossdale. This is, of course, hardly unheard of and highly relatable; love is, after all, blind, and sometimes, even consciously, we ignore warning signs in favor of avoiding conflict and upholding love, yours truly included. I just love the energy and the attitude of this song, and it's definitely in my top five favorites of the album. It reminds me a bit of Madonna's song "Love Spent" from her 2012 album MDNA in that both songs compare a failing relationship to money being spent.

Truth unfortunately makes another dip downward in my opinion, with another one of my least favorites following "Red Flag." "Asking 4 It" is a mid-tempo pop / hip-hop track, the most urban mark on the album. It features background vocals and a solo verse from rapper and singer Fetty Wap, and his part is honestly what really brings the song down (that and the annoyingly repetitive lyrics). Fetty Wap's lyrics are completely incomprehensible; I had to look the lyrics up to know what he was saying because it is literally impossible to determine otherwise. It's difficult to determine what he's doing; it's kind of like rapping but not really because he's singing a melody. It's sort of like sedated wailing with, as I said, indecipherable lyrics. I really wish that Gwen had kept the song solo because I might have more appreciation for it, but even then, the chorus is infuriatingly repetitive. It has grown on me a bit because I like it a little bit better than I did when I first heard it, but it's still definitely a low point for me on Truth. Lyrically, the song is addressing a new potential lover, asking him to determine whether or not he's capable of handling her and her baggage. The album then returns to the style and the subject of "Red Flag" with "Naughty," a catty anthem directed toward an ex-lover (obviously Gavin), calling him out on the ways that he was deceptive and sneaky and ultimately ruined the relationship. This is another one of my favorites, full of attitude and a catchy melody.

"Me Without You" returns to the style of "Used to Love You," as it is a downbeat ballad about the divorce. The outlook is definitely a bit different than "Used to Love You," though, as it is much more self-empowering and self-assertive. "No, I don't need you, not a little bit. To myself, I've finally admitted it," she declares. This is another song that comes off as emotionally raw and honest as she comes to the realization that she is better off without her ex-lover; she is now independent and can make decisions that don't depend on him. "I can love whoever I want, say whatever I want, do whatever I want," she reasons both with herself and with him. This is another one that might be in my top five favorites from the album, another highlight for sure. The standard edition of the album then closes with "Rare," a downtempo soft rock song about finding love in (as the Calvin Harris and Rihanna track goes) a hopeless place. Stefani encapsulates the rare beauty and metaphorical perfection of her new lover (Blake Shelton, of course). This is another one of my favorites, primarily because stylistically, it reminds me so much of one of my very favorite musicians, Marina and the Diamonds, sounding very much like something that would belong on her 2015 release FROOT. A majority of the four tracks ("Rocket Ship," "Getting Warmer," Obsessed," and "Splash") found on the Target exclusive edition are, unfortunately, kind of weak throwaways, with the only one that I really like being the fourteenth track, "Getting Warmer."

I love "Getting Warmer" so much because upon your first listen, it surprises you, starting out sounding like an '80s ballad until it suddenly rips into a modern electronic Calvin Harris like track. Lyrically, the song serves as a transition between the divorce and her new relationship, wondering if her new interest is really the one for her (which, of course, she ultimately decides is the case on tracks like "Truth" and "Rare"). She asks her new lover to be decent and truthful, an obvious direct contrast to reasons why her marriage ultimately failed. "Getting Warmer" is, as I said, the only bonus track on the Target version of Truth that stands out as a highlight. The Japanese edition of the album, however, features two additional tracks, "Loveable" (which is also featured as the closing track on the international edition) and "War Paint." These are both major highlights for me and essentials. "Loveable" is somewhat of an antithesis to "Asking 4 It." It is another reflection on the ways that her ex-husband hurt her and caused her to have baggage from there on out, but unlike "Asking 4 It," she declares that she is capable of being loved, not feared. It is also somewhat of a response to "Used to Love You," as she asks herself, "Did I love you? I can't remember." It also features a line that rings really close to my heart: "Can't even miss you 'cause you're not the person that I thought you were." The international version of the album closes there (an effective closing), but if the album is looked at in full in its entirety, "War Paint" works even better.

"War Paint" is a song that is (unfortunately) exclusive to the Japanese edition of the album. It is one of my favorites and, like "Loveable," is an essential. "War Paint" is a positive reggae pop-rock song that metaphorically speaks of wearing war paint as a way of combating her troubles and beginning to live life again. "I'm going tribal on ya," she warns someone, probably her ex-husband. The song cleverly uses war metaphors throughout, such as apprehensively tip-toeing through minefields. Stylistically, it has a reggae sound like "Where I Would Be?" does and reminds me of Rock Steady. It is somewhat like a higher energy version of "Underneath It All" (a song written about Gavin during a much different period of the relationship). All in all, the album is a great comeback for Gwen as a solo artist but is very different from what I was expecting. Divorce and heartbreak usually means darker and deeper music. Contrast, for example, Avril Lavigne's third album The Best Damn Thing to the fourth one, Goodbye Lullaby. I was expecting a darker album than L.A.M.B. and The Sweet Escape that focused almost entirely on the divorce and its direct aftermath; instead, I got an album that is primarily about, as I said, the excitement of new love. It's a fantastic album with which I have immensely fallen in love, but it definitely isn't what I was expecting. It is also all over the place going back and forth between Gavin and Blake, and while albums are under no obligation to tell a story, I really wish that this one had. I made a chronological edition of the album (pictured below), changing the tracklisting to make it more chronological, and I think that that works a lot better.