No Doubt

The Blondie of Generation X, No Doubt came out of Orange County in 1995 wielding elements of third-wave ska, surf punk and bubblegum pop like broadswords to decimate a music industry still mired in grunge. Soon, lead singer and pinup gal Gwen Stefani became a style icon for a whole generation of girls, making her trademark Hindu bindi dot as commonplace in junior highs as lip gloss. Her band's bubbly sound birthed a whole scene of happy pop-punks throwing horns and keyboards into their mix, with bands like Save Ferris sprouting up in nearly every suburb in America. Tragic Kingdom (1996) was and is No Doubt's definitive statement, yielding six radio singles and launching the band on an almost two-year world tour. Since then, the band has only released two studio albums, the New Wave-drenched Return of Saturn and dub-synth experiment Rock Steady. Stefani then went solo for two massively popular albums of glittery dance-pop, marrying the dude from Bush and birthing two boys. After getting reacquainted on this summer shed tour, No Doubt will head into the studio to record fresh material.