This Is What the Truth Feels Like

by Gwen Stefani

Overview

It's hard to view the title of This Is What the Truth Feels Like, Gwen Stefani's first solo album in ten years, as anything other than confession: she's put away childish things so she can focus on what's real. Given that her past decade consisted of raising kids, divorcing a husband, stumbling through a No Doubt reunion, and finding redemption as a television star, there's a lot of ground for her to cover. Some of the album's sprawl is endemic to pop in the mid-2010s, where standard operating procedure calls for superstars to work with a revolving team of producers, not a key collaborator. Some of this is also due to Stefani's desire to be everything to everyone, a grande dame who revels in her past while living for the future. By pursuing the twin inclinations to spill her heart while pushing musically forward, Stefani often mangles the mood. Otherwise light-hearted openers "Misery" and "You're My Favorite" accidentally dredge up a melancholy air, while the purportedly heartbroken "Used to Love You" achieves the opposite effect: Stefani seems thrilled her relationship is now nothing more than a memory. "Used to Love You" is one of many allusions to her divorce from Bush leader Gavin Rossdale -- the icy "Me Without You" is another -- but far from wallowing in her loss, Stefani spends roughly half of the record singing breezy songs of liberation. On groovy slices of retro-disco like "Where Would I Be?" and "Make Me Like You," or the glossy adult pop of "Truth," she seems freed, never hustling to be hip nor settling into a role as an elder stateswoman. At its best, This Is What the Truth Feels Like manages to be as fleet, giddy, and charming as Gwen Stefani ever is. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/27/2016
Label:	Interscope
UPC:	0602547828842

Tracks

1. Misery
2. You're My Favorite
3. Where Would I Be
4. Make Me Like You
5. Truth
6. Used to Love You
7. Send Me a Picture
8. Red Flag
9. Asking 4 It
10. Naughty
11. Me Without You
12. Rare

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gwen Stefani   Primary Artist,Handwriting
Fetty Wap   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Greg Kurstin   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards

Technical Credits

Raja Kumari   Composer
Julian Burg   Engineer
Mattman & Robin   Producer
Fetty Wap   Composer
Willie Maxwell   Composer
Teal Douville   Composer
Miles Comaskey   Assistant
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Tony Maserati   Mixing
Stargate   Producer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering
John Hanes   Mixing Engineer
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Mike Anderson   Engineer,Tracking
Mikkel Storleer Eriksen   Composer,Engineer,Tracking,Instrumentation
Gwen Stefani   Drawing,Composer,Creative Director,Executive Producer
Jonathan Rotem   Producer,Composer
Robin Fredriksson   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Geoff Swan   Assistant
Steven Felix   Assistant
Greg Kurstin   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Justin Tranter   Composer
Matty Green   Assistant
Miles Walker   Engineer,Tracking
Samuel Kalandjian   Engineer,Tracking
Aaron Bay-Schuck   A&R
Tim Blacksmith   Executive Producer
Danny D.   Executive Producer
Alex Pasco   Engineer
Jolie Clemens   Art Direction
Phil Seaford   Assistant
Tor Erik Hermansen   Composer,Instrumentation
Jamie Nelson   Photography
Julia Michaels   Composer
Mattias Larsson   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Tyler Scott   Assistant