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.
No comments:
Post a Comment