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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Donny Doane wants to spend the night with The Donnas: A CD Review
Thursday 02 January @ 10:53:52 |
 The last time yours truly kicked it with California party girls The Donnas, I may have been a little rough on them. But hey, I was playing by their own rules—just having a little fun with them, that’s all. I harbored no mean spirit, just the wiseacre’s sense of delight. And nobody got hurt, least of all their careers.
It’s been two years since the world celebrated the girls’ turning 21. (Boy what a party that was!) Since then, I’m thrilled to report, these four fine young ladies have, err…matured. If that word seems a little strong, we’ll just say that they’re all two years older. But fear not, they’re still just as bratty: that, of course, is what makes them so precious.
Loaded with not-so-subtle double entendres, the Donnas latest, The Donnas Spend The Night (Atlantic), is clearly the work of 23-year-olds, being far more solid and consistent than their loose coming of age release The Donnas Turn 21 (Lookout!). Perhaps during the interim the girls hit more than just the bong: by all appearances they’ve been spending extra time in both the gym and at the practice space to keep those tight bods tight and their playing chops honed. On top of that, they’ve got the muscle of a major label this time ‘round, and the most delicious packaging imaginable.
All told, these 23-year-olds are dishing up their finest serving of high school yum-yum yet. Breaking up and out is the classically clichéd “On The Rocks,” a song about dumping a lame boy-toy. On the other hand, it could be about how the Donnas like their amaretto sours. Shoot, it could be about BOTH!
After having rid themselves of a guy who would “rather have a Mai-Tai/Than a tall glass of Bud Dry,” The Donnas move on to their next conquest in “Take It Off.” There’s no mystery here. Even at 23, they’re just as boy-crazy as when they got legal. I, for one, think it’s healthy and natural. Ditto for liquor and weed: it’s natural. So much so that the age-old credo of SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL falls a bit short. But then again, it’s only rock ‘n’ roll—the amazing and anomalous subculture-cum-institution (mental, of course) that actually nurtures those whose psychological make-ups never want to leave high school. But I digress, so let’s get back to the party, because that’s what it’s all about, anyway—the never-ending high school kegger.
“Who Invited You” is the Donnas’ pointed reply to unkind critics—smart-asses like myself who think chicks can’t rock. It’s their party, and with lyrics like “We don’t care / if you think our party’s cool / ’Cos we do!” they’re sending the unequivocal message, “don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.” Whoa, and do they mean business.
Voracious boy hunger is the primary intoxicant in “All Messed Up.” The opening line, “Well, I must have had too many Diet Cokes / Because I’m laughing at all your stupid jokes” announces their lyric-writing prowess from the get go. “Dirty Denim” could be their indictment of aging rockers whose relaxed attitudes toward personal hygiene and fashion were all too trademark. “Your hair’s so dirty / It makes you look like you’re thirty,” serves notice that Dave Pirner need not apply. The song reaches its acme with the bridge before the “solo” where the girls join together for a histrionic gang vocal: it culminates with one of the best “Whoo-hoo!”s ever committed to the magnetic medium.
Though two years may not have produced a remarkable intellectual evolution, that’s not the point. In fact, it would probably just get in the way of the good times offered here. One reason this particular Donna suitor has been spinning Spend The Night so frequently lies in the growth the ladies have shown as a band: they’re just better musicians now. The Donnas’ sound is coalescing into a tight, muscular unit.
What’s more, Spend The Night is an indication that the Donnas are steadily moving away from being some kind of specialty act to become a good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll band, plain and simple. The guitars are still party rock hard; but the band shows more consideration to stronger, catchier melodies. They also exhibit a Stones-like boogie-consciousness at times. Their drumming is smarter and more rhythmic. Drummer Donna C (Torry Castellano) is a little powder keg, and the secret star of the show (as good drummers usually are). Her Hindu-like devotion to-, and zealous use, of the holiest of holies among percussion toys—the sacred cowbell—is highly commendable, and whips things up with that undeniable get down sound.
So even though I kind of got down on the girls last time around, they have since stepped up to the challenge by recording a record that GETS DOWN. I’m sure that by now this strain of girl germs is spreading to jukeboxes across the land. Despite my full loving support, I still don’t think the Donnas will ever achieve their own Horses or Easter, but you never know. But if they do in fact prove me wrong (which I hope they will), why then, I’ll eat their umm…entire back catalogue. Yeah, that’s it.
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