* Don't bother ** Worth a listen *** Turn it up **** Buy it ***** Exceptional

Gwen Stefani's follow-up to her 2004 hit-or-miss solo debut Love.Angel.Music.Baby. is exactly what I expected. The former ska queen ditched her No Doubt bandmates for more artistic freedom, but sought it in tired club beats, quirky teen pop and hip-hop clichés.

That's not to say the entire CD is bad —there are certainly some highlights, and The Sweet Escape is a marginal improvement over the mess that was L.A.M.B. There's also something to be said for her unique style, as strange as it sometimes is.

The club-oriented record starts with a track that epitomizes Stefani's solo style. "Wind It Up," the debut single, begins with yodeling and a sample from The Sound of Music, continuing her strange obsession with musical references that started with "Rich Girl." The song goes on to recall "Hollaback Girl" –— superficially annoying but oddly compelling.

The Motown-inspired title track is an interesting tune, probably the best on the entire album. "Orange County Girl," laden with name-checks and personal references, is backed by an interesting G-Funk type riff. The annoying lyrics and an unoriginal chorus ("All the girls sing! La la la la la la la!"), however, don't live up to the beat, and her use of the F-bomb seems a little forced (not to mention inappropriate for who her target audience seems to be — preteen and teenaged girls). "Early Winter" recalls Return of Saturn-era No Doubt, but boringly.

"Now That You Got It" has Stefani treading dangerously on Beyonce's territory. The pissed-off yet sweeter-than-Kelis hip-hop tune demonstrates that the former punk-reggae rocker can pull off a lot of styles, but not rap or soul.

"Four in the Morning" has Stefani trying her hand at circa-1999 teen pop, which is awkward and out-of-place seeing as the married 37-year-old music-biz veteran (she's been a member of No Doubt since the late 1980s) could theoretically be a grandmother.

Next is "Yummy," the catchiest track on the entire album, which is basically indistinguishable from "Wind It Up." Her lyrics describe the song perfectly — "This sounds like disco Tetris." The proceeding track, Fluorescent, sounds like a 1980s Michael Jackson tune. Apparently, Stefani thinks enough time has passed since No Doubt's Rock Steady that no one will notice the riff is basically lifted from the hit single "Hellagood."

The menacing "Brakin' Up," which marks a dark turnaround in the album's tone, strangely uses cell phone jargon as a metaphor for a failing relationship ("My battery's getting low ... Hold up, I think I'm losing you ... We're breakin' up!"). This really isn't as clever as it sounds, and Stefani's tone makes her sound like a crazed ex-girlfriend.

The record at least closes on a good note with Wonderful Life, a club track that marries Depeche Mode's goth-electronica with Ace of Base's chipper pop-sensibility.

All in all, The Sweet Escape is not a terrible record. Anyone who's looking for Stefani to retract her sellout status and live up to her previously-demonstrated artistic potential, however, will be sorely disappointed. Those looking for a catchy, quirky yet unremarkable dance record, on the other hand, might find just what they're looking for.

— Jeff Tripoli

jefftripoli@thedaily.washington.edu