A good example is the hit off this record, "Just A Girl." It's very catchy, very energetic and very fun, the perfect pop song if ever there was one. Lead singer Gwen Stefani says this about it: "The lyrics are so obvious. If you don't think it's sarcastic, you've got to be like an idiot."
In the same vein is the equally catchy, equally energetic and equally fun "Happy Now?" With its sugary recurring guitar riff and sweet, predictable backup vocals it's hard not to smile when you listen to the song, even if it is very enjoyable to listen to.
Without pushing in too much, the first half of Tragic Kingdom has this same pop feel. Songs like "Spiderwebs" and "Excuse Me Mr" have a sense of vibrancy about them, as well as being the type of song you can like very quickly. Even though they're not the greatest songs ever written, No Doubt seem like a very good band when they stick to this formula.
Where the album goes wrong, though, is in the second half where they move away from this formula. The band seem to move away from pop and into that combination of rock, punk and ska which becomes more noticeable. While the music is less predictable it is also, and probably not coincidentally, less pleasant.
Still, there are a couple of exceptions. "Don't Speak" is reminiscent of those earlier songs and is the type of power ballad that some people love and some people hate. Closing off the album is the title track, which is the most bizarre of all. Though it appears like a strange thing to say, in its sound, energy and decadence "Tragic Kingdom" sounds a lot like something Queen might have done. No Doubt don't quite pull it off so well, but it's a very interesting note on which to close the album.
All in all Tragic Kingdom is a bit of harmless fun. One of the positives of this album is that sense of energy that goes right through it. Added to this are a number of songs which are just really good listens. However combined with all this is some music which doesn't enthuse the listener as much and ultimately it is these tracks which drag down the quality of the album.
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