I honestly thought Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" was the kind of unstoppable monster seen once a generation. A song that ridiculous should never have left Ms. Stefani's head, let alone hit No. 1. "We fell for it once, but never again," I said. Then came Fergie's carbon-copy "London Bridge." "But," I foolishly thought, "at least we're safe from anything worse, right?"

So I felt at ease as I threw on Gwen's new album, The Sweet Escape.

And then the first thing I heard was yodeling. Lead single "Wind It Up" continued the proud tradition of its forerunners, completing the unholy trinity.

Yes, much like Gwen's first album, Love.Angel.Music.Baby., The Sweet Escape is a very uneven batch of songs. It's overflowing with questionable ideas, songs so strange that it would be admirable for a pop star to dare to put them on record, except the songs aren't that good.

"Wind It Up" is a "Hollaback Girl" follow-up that decides that song would have been better if it sampled "The Sound of Music" in place of the marching band beat--it's not. "Breakin' Up" pushes a tedious pun about breaking up with your significant other while losing cell phone reception. For some reason, Gwen also decides she does a mean Lil' Jon impression--she doesn't--and repeatedly shouts every lyric over and over.

It's an odd compliment, but Gwen's ability to find so many distinct ways to derail a song is kind of impressive.

Unfortunately, the irritation caused by the songs outweighs the innovation. Stefani has managed to systematically drop every one of the qualities that made her so endearing as the singer of No Doubt, trading in youthful energy and personality pop-star ambition.

No song better exemplifies how detached Gwen is from her old self than on "Orange County Girl," one of those "I'm just a girl from the neighborhood" songs. For these songs, pop stars bring in top-notch producers who provide beats under which they sing about how normal they are. "Hey, I'm a girl just like you," Gwen seems to say, "I have Pharrell put my L.A.M.B. heels on my feet with my Grammy shoehorn one foot at a time, just like everyone else."

Stefani immediately contradicts herself with "Now That You Got It," a song about how she's a princess who deserves to be carried away to a magical castle: "This better be the best thing I ever felt/My daisy better be sunny/Better be nothing but all that I want/Now that I'm your baby/the things you promised me/Now I want."

There are a few passable songs. "Early Winter" and "Wonderful Life" show off Gwen's dream to an electronic/new wave crossover power ballad circa 1984, but it's a sound she does well--think "Cool" from her first album. "The Sweet Escape" features a guest spot from Akon doing a high-pitched "whooo-hoooo, yeee-hooo!" nonsense vocal hook that's hard to escape, making the song a candidate for a single.

But mostly, it's more of Stefani's bizarre pop. It's pretty sad to see someone who once effortlessly crafted pop songs losing her personality in a mad quest to be a superstar.

It's even sadder to see her album isn't that much unlike Fergie's. But Fergie simply went from a crappy band to a crappy solo career. From Stefani, it's harder not to be disappointed. Grade: D+