Music Review: Gwen Stefani’s ‘Bouquet’ is a romantic return to mellow rock — with an ageless voice

Words and phrases like “nostalgia” or “back to her roots” come to mind when listening to Gwen Stefani’s fifth studio album, “Bouquet” — and it is in no way negative. In that way, “Bouquet” is a not so furtive ode to husband Blake Shelton — who she met and fell in love with while they were both coaches on the singing reality competition show, “The Voice.” At the time, they were both going through divorces to Gavin Rossdale and Miranda Lambert, respectively. On “Bouquet,” the Stefani-Shelton romance arrives through yacht rock sounds and flowery language in songs with titles like “Marigolds,” “Late to Bloom” and “Empty Vase.” When the album reaches its end, it is with a duet with Shelton on “Purple Irises.” If the album tells a story of her relationship, it starts with the opener “Somebody Else’s.” Stefani starts off the proceedings by listing her previous romantic entanglement and bad choices. “I don’t know what a woman like me/Was doin’ with a man like you, ooh.” It’s a direct counter to the title track, where the focus appears to be back on Shelton: “We met when my heart was broken/Thank God that yours was, too,” she shares.