Settle Down, It's New No Doubt

As a fan of No Doubt, I've been anxiously waiting for new music from the SoCal quartet.  With a new record Push And Shove slated for release on September 25th, it was only a matter of time before the album's first single was released.  Well, today No Doubt unleashed debuted the first single 'Settle Down'.   Eleven years is a long time to wait for a band to release new music and this has not been without its fair share of hype.

My only question is: was it overhyped?  Return Of Saturn, the follow up to 1995's Tragic Kingdom (the album that put No Doubt on the map), was five years in the making, and while it contains a few of my favourite ND tunes, it sounds like a band trying too hard to live up to their new stature.  They  followed Saturn up quickly with Rock Steady the following year.  One could argue that Rock Steady is their most cohesive body of work.  In fact, I will.  So, perhaps, they are a band who produce their best stuff when working quickly?

My biggest fear was that new No Doubt would sound like another Gwen Stefani solo record.  Thankfully, 'Settle Down' doesn't...for the most part.  It has the band's trademark ska/pop/rock sound and while it's not what I was hoping for/expecting from a "comeback" single, it is nice to have them back on the musical landscape.  It's a song made for summer and will sound great on my balcony while I down margaritas.  Check it out for yourself below.  Thanks for reading.