This Is What the Truth Feels Like
by Gwen Stefani
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 188 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 148 out of 188
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 188
  3. Negative: 22 out of 188
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  1. Tonyo
    Apr 18, 2016
    6
    Après avoir tâté le terrain avec quelques singles qui sont passés inaperçus, Gwen Stefani est de retour. 10 ans après son dernier album, elle propose des sons efficaces rappelant certains de ses anciens titres tout en étant ancrés dans leurs temps.

    Pistes à retenir: Misery, Truth, Used To Love You, Me Without You, Getting Warmer, Loveable.
  2. Scraper
    Mar 19, 2016
    4
    I actually think Gwen Stefani can write a great pop song. The thing that irks me is her obsession with herself. The whole story of her break-up from that geek from Bush, her new relationship to some pop-country joker, and her new album happened in the span of a couple months. The album follows verbatim this uninteresting storyline of everything that we already know happened. "I was with aI actually think Gwen Stefani can write a great pop song. The thing that irks me is her obsession with herself. The whole story of her break-up from that geek from Bush, her new relationship to some pop-country joker, and her new album happened in the span of a couple months. The album follows verbatim this uninteresting storyline of everything that we already know happened. "I was with a guy for a long time, then it ended suddenly, but then I picked up some other vacuous hotty in a few minutes." It's not all that brave or revealing.… Expand
  3. leocarli
    Jun 30, 2016
    4
    O que aconteceu com, Gwen? Demorou tanto pra lançar algo pop e veio com esse álbum que se você ouvir por completo uma vez nem se anima em ouvir de novo.
  4. crunchycelery
    Mar 24, 2016
    6
    When Gwen was touting a new solo record with atrocious singles “Baby Don’t Lie” and “Spark the Fire” I was awaiting the pharrell fuelled dud that it inevitably would have been. “The Sweet Escape” was a mixed bag at best and paled in comparison to it’s predecessor and any No Doubt post “Tragic Kingdom”. When the record was scrapped to start a new I re-mained a little hopeful.
    With the    When Gwen was touting a new solo record with atrocious singles “Baby Don’t Lie” and “Spark the Fire” I was awaiting the pharrell fuelled dud that it inevitably would have been. “The Sweet Escape” was a mixed bag at best and paled in comparison to it’s predecessor and any No Doubt post “Tragic Kingdom”. When the record was scrapped to start a new I re-mained a little hopeful.
    With the release of “Make Me Like You” a sparked curiosity for the new record was restored. The summer-y 2000s California Pop number finds Stefani “oohing and ahing” over shimmery keyboards and snappy snares. Her signature coo delicately strutting overtop bouncy bass and angled guitar. It managed to stun in a way that previous “confessional” single “Used To Love You” didn’t quite.
    Confessional Gwen is what made Gwen famous. Her best songs have always been confessional. Some of which ironically were written about her now ex-husband (a supposed influencer to this material). But unfortunately this record doesn’t do a whole lot in dealing “Truth” but rather avoiding it. Which is perfectly fine, its Gwen’s prerogative to discuss what she wants to, but as a result the art suffers a bit.
    Instead of getting a sincere look into aftermath of her divorce, we get a lot of hashed adoration for her new beaux, fellow The Voice coach Blake Shelton. Most of which is sound tracked by fairly trendy but uninspired instrumentation. A 2015 brand bland-ish trap/pop hybrid. In a review for “The Sweet Escape” Stylus Magazine stated that Gwen’s at her best when she’s combining two or more genres together. A sentiment I agree with when you consider No Doubt’s successes in blending Ska/Punk/New Wave, or L.A.M.B’s hybrid of 80s/Dance/Pop. This is seen on “Where Would I Be” (a clear highlight) in which 2016 EDM meets Gwen’s Reggae tinged roots for a pretty lively banger sure to be a summer smash.
    The whole record is a little top heavy. With the aforementioned tracks highlights, as with the bouncy step “Misery”, the bitcrushed drip drop beat of “You’re My Favourite”, and the slight grower of first single “Used To Love You”.
    The rest is pretty filler, but not offensive missteps for the most part. The Soca tinged EDM in “Send Me a Picture” and “Asking For It” sound fine. And the attempt at sassy trap inspired “Red Flag” and “Naughty” feel like a grab for the sound of something current. Though the latter two divulge into some cringe (Gwen hasn’t really been able to pull of white girl rap since “Hollaback Girl”), “Red Flag” does intrigue from the offset trap verses with lamenting strings and choral harmonies.
    The ballads “Truth” and “Me Without You” aren’t anything particularly remarkable nor offensive. Electropop closer “Rare” ends on a similar note. Unless you’ve indulged in the deluxe edition in which many extra tracks of NOPE have been added (save for the 8-bit dancehall of “Getting Warmer” which could’ve easily been swapped for absolutely atrocious international edition closer “Loveable”, and perhaps some of the less then stellar standard tracks).
    I find “…Truth…” holds up more cohesively than “The Sweet Escape”, but it’s a bit of a missed opportunity. Perhaps the tragic subject matter would’ve been handled more interestingly on a No Doubt record (and it somewhat already has). Here’s to hoping that next time Gwen finds back her pop charm.    … Expand
  5. jrodfilms
    Mar 20, 2016
    6
    for the most part, its the same ole gwen. the best songs are where would i be, make me like you, red flag, and naughty. the problem is there are no strong songs like cool or 4 in the morning like on her other two albums.
  6. salvador1355
    Apr 1, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is not the best Gwen Stefani's album, even The Sweet Escape have most memorable songs in it. This Is What the Truth Feels Like is an album full of emotional lyrics, but with a sound less memorable. The big songs are Used to love you, Truth and Make me like you. But with Send me a picture, Asking 4 it and Getting warmer make this record like a disaster. It's not bad, but she can do it better.… Expand
  7. nagnagnag
    Apr 4, 2016
    5
    Gwen Stefani has been the 'it girl' of pop music for quite a while now, both when in No Doubt and solo. She's know to be both feminine and tough, a stylish peacock and a zesty punk-poppette under one ultra-blonde roof. But lately as of the past 4 years, Gwen has not been able to capitalize on what allured the public back in the 90s through early 00s. The comeback record with her band,Gwen Stefani has been the 'it girl' of pop music for quite a while now, both when in No Doubt and solo. She's know to be both feminine and tough, a stylish peacock and a zesty punk-poppette under one ultra-blonde roof. But lately as of the past 4 years, Gwen has not been able to capitalize on what allured the public back in the 90s through early 00s. The comeback record with her band, 2012's Push and Shove was one overproduced career suicide. She then has had another child and reinvented herself as a Judge in The Voice, drawing a whole new audience that had not been there when she hit it big. The Truth Is What The Feels Like comes hot in the heels of a turbulent period in her life: a divorce to Gavin Rossdale and the start of a new relationship with her Voice-costar, Blake Shelton. She presents the album as a healing vehicle for this period of upheaval, and decided to record only as a form of catharsis. Gwen has never shied away from honesty both in and off record, and the lyrics in Truth are intimidating and even at times awkward in their naked transparency. Songwriting through grief is never easy but it seems like fertile terrain for the energetic, theatrical vocals that have become Stefani's trademark, and that served moments like Don't Speak or Ex Girlfriend so well. Despite some use of autotune here and there, most of the time Gwen sounds terrific. Sadly, the same can't be said of the production and songwriting: at their worst, the former can be painfully plastic and the songwriting laughably disjointed. Gwen herself claimed that this the message of the songs had been more important than the sound this, and you can tell. Nobody's asking her to go back to the cool mash-up aesthetic of her first two solo records, she no longer has it in her, but the production courtesy of Rotem, Mattman and Robin and Kurstin is almost dispirited in its pop trendiness: some icy trap beats here, some exotic Diplo-style breakdowns there and the rest all minimal and graceful arrangements. And the songwriting varies from very good (seldom), frustrating (most of the time) or completely awful (a case or two). Songs like ''Asking For It'' and ''Me Without You'' have beautiful verses only to then trail into senseless and blandly repetitive choruses that suck out all their emotion and personality, while the dancehall sampled chorus and cheerleader chants of ''Where Would I Be'' feel strangely tacked-in and forced. It seems that Gwen and her team should have taken more time with the record, to polish the sounds as much as the songwriting. Because despite all the inspiration and emotional investment put on it there still seems to be a level of compromise beneath it all, given the rushed and lazy results. The only perfect track here is ''Rare'' a sweet and ethereal disco number that has sounds like an instant classic. The rest is mostly missed potential.… Expand
  8. BossCharn
    Nov 30, 2016
    6
    A huge step back from her last album. I actually expected something more fun and better than this album. She just tried to make a come back look the same as her last album but it's kinda boring instead.

    My Top 3;
    1. Misery
    2. Me Without You
    3. Truth

Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Most Discussed Album of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. Q Magazine
    Apr 8, 2016
    60
    The over-sauced, finger-wagging Naughty might take the joyful retribution to far in the panto direction but I Will Survive update Me Without You and joyful dancefloor rebirth Rare prove that Stefani has lost none of her pop spirit. [Jun 2016, p.117]
  2. The Telegraph (UK)
    Apr 4, 2016
    60
    Although it's a bright and buoyant effort--with recognisable touches of ska and reggae--her new album lacks the left-field flourishes that make her special.
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  3. The Guardian
    Mar 24, 2016
    40
    Only reggae-lite skank Where Would I Be hints at Stefani’s once playful personality. But the truth is that this feels like little more than careerist chart fodder.
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