as a pop goddess." Despite stating that Stefani "shamelessly plunders" 1980s music, Krissi Murison of the NME referred to the album as "one of the most frivolously brilliant slabs of shiny retro-pop anyone's had the chuzpah to release all year." John Murphy of musicOMH found the album "enjoyable, if patchy", but commented that it was too long. Rolling Stones Rob Sheffield described the album as "an irresistible party: trashy, hedonistic and deeply weird." The magazine later placed the album at number 39 on its list of the top 50 albums of 2004. Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention () and wrote, "Turns out the problem wasn't ska per se—it was No Doubt." Edna Gundersen of USA Today called the album "[f]un, fizzy, frivolous", while noting that Stefani's "caffeinated electro-pop amounts to little more than sly channeling of Lisa Lisa at a disco revival." Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times viewed it as a "clever and sometimes enticing solo debut that doesn't quite add up." The album was generally criticized for its large number of collaborations and producers. The Guardians Caroline Sullivan argued that although "others lend a hand [...] it's very much Stefani's show"; however, most others disagreed. Jason Damas of PopMatters compared the album to a second No Doubt greatest hits album, and Pitchfork's Nick Sylvester felt that the large number of collaborators result in sacrificing Stefani's identity on the album. Most reviewers held that the collaborations prevented the album from having a solidified sound. Eric Greenwood wrote for Drawer B that "Stefani tries to be all things to all people here", but that the result "comes off as manipulative and contrived." Entertainment Weeklys David Browne shared this opinion, stating that the album "is like one of those au courant retail magazines that resembles a catalog more than an old-fashioned collection of, say, articles." Many reviewers focused on the album's light lyrical themes. Entertainment Weekly called the references to Stefani's clothing line "shameless" and stated that "each song becomes akin to a pricey retro fashion blurb", and Pitchfork quipped that "the Joker's free-money parade through Gotham City was a much more entertaining display of wealth, and he had Prince, not just Wendy & Lisa." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commented that the album's "fashion fetish [...] gives the album a sense of thematic cohesiveness", but the "obsession with Harajuku girls borders on maniacal". The Guardian