No Doubt - Push and Shove

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - I don't know if the darn kids these days will remember, but back in the mid-1990s right into the early 2000s, there was a ska/rock outfit called No Doubt that was quite popular. When their album Tragic Kingdom became a hit and sold millions of copies in 1995, they became a household name and major players on the pop charts. That success continued somewhat with their follow-up Return of Saturn, but they exploded even more with their 2001 album Rock Steady. No Doubt was at the top of their game and proved that they were no one trick pony. And then... they disappeared. Of course there were two pop heavy solo albums from singer Gwen Stefani that were successful, but not satisfying to most No Doubt fans.

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Hope & Social - Sleep Sound

 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Sometimes in life, by chance you stumble upon something really great. One day on Bandcamp.com, I was browsing through albums by genre, probably the difficult to define genre of “alternative,” when I stumbled upon this record. I think I was caught by its beautiful cover art. I clicked and then I listened and I knew that this was quality work and from that moment on I was a Hope & Social fan. I was actually planning on reviewing this months ago, but then I moved and forgot about it for a time. But I have now remembered and I wish to share my enthusiasm for this record with anyone who is willing to read.

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