No Doubt succeeds with ëSaturn' disc

Welcome to No Doubt's introspective kingdom.

Five years after "Tragic Kingdom" launched the pride of Anaheim into the international spotlight, No Doubt is back with its fourth and perhaps strongest effort, the eclectic and dark "Return of Saturn."

Nearly all of the album's 14 tracks deal with internal angst over problematic relationships and issues of self-identity, exemplified in "Magic's In The Makeup," when singer Gwen Stefani wonders, "My makeup's all off/Who am I?"

The new disc finds No Doubt straying further away from its musical roots in the two-tone ska of Madness, The Specials and Fishbone, toward a sound of sonic pop laced with new wave. Fans of the band's earlier material may find this trend disconcerting, but musical evolution of this kind is only natural and marks maturity.

Scattered throughout "Saturn" are sinewy rhythms and melodies paying shadowy homage to groups of yesteryear such as Missing Persons, the B-52s and Oingo Boingo.

After 13 years together, the band's sound is sharp, punchy and tight. Additional musicians Gabrial McNair (keyboards) and Stephen Bradley (trumpet) fill out the unit.

While most of the album finds the band alternating between punkish aggression and melancholy, a few songs defy these trends.

A campy sense of humor prevails in the playfully metaphoric "Bathwater" and in the tongue-in-cheek jealousy of "Staring Problem." The band's roots in ska are also never completely forgotten, coming out in "Home Now" and the sultry, reggae-flavored "Marry Me."

What really propels this album is Stefani's voice and the candid honesty of her lyrics. Underneath the glitzy makeup and peppermint locks is a mature woman struggling with the direction her life has taken.

On the album's edgy ballads, Stefani's delivery of often-painful lyrics wavers between hypnotic seduction and earnest, yet theatrical, pleading. At times, she shares whispers and reflections of inner sadness that almost drip with bittersweet honesty.

In "Simple Kind Of Life," Stefani reveals an inner yearning for a domestic life of marriage and children, which conflicts with her status as a globetrotting pop star. "I always thought I'd be a mom/ Sometimes I wish for a mistake." A few lines later, she shares the stark reality that binds her. "Now all those simple things are simply too complicated for my life/How'd I get so faithful to my freedom?/A selfish kind of life."

It is precisely this sort of candid reflection that makes "Return of Saturn" more than just a good album. "Saturn" comes highly recommended and sounds refreshingly sincere amidst the drivel of pre-fabricated boy bands and synthetically augmented ballerina-divas currently clogging up the pop scene.