Settle Down, it's the new No Doubt single

"Get in line and settle down". What is this - a creche?

What we want from a new No Doubt single is a barnstorming call-to-arms, not Listen With Mother.

Luckily, on Settle Down, Gwen Stefani isn't really sending us all to the naughty step, she’s attempting to silence her critics and "the haterzzzzz". She's rough and tough, she explains, and nothing is going to hold her down. Well, thank goodness for that.

Musically, the band are in familiar ska-but-not-really territory. Stefani's pop sensibilities are front and centre, with three or four sub-choruses vying for dominance over the metallic snap of Adrian Young's syncopated drums.

The main thing is that, after a gap of about 10 years, this could have been terrible – but actually, No Doubt have pulled it out of the bag. "It" being a good song, rather than a rabbit, or a potato. Listen to the Ryan Seacrest exclusive below (or, failing that, on his website).



One final point, RE: The lyric, "I’m hella positive for real". Gwen Stefani is 42.

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