With the release of their 2002 album Spend the Night, The Donnas finally broke through to some mainstream success on the strength of the hit Take It Off. I was so impressed with Spend the Night's back to basics, meat and potatoes rock and roll that I named it the best album of the year. Despite my enthusiasm for that record, I can't say that I had high hopes for the band's follow up, the just released Gold Medal.

Perhaps it was my tepid feelings towards the first single, Fall Behind Me. Or maybe it was just the feeling that they didn't have enough in their arsenal to move forward from Spend the Night, which was refreshing in its simplicity and straight ahead sound, but the problem with a sound like that is that it can get old after about an album or so.

So does Gold Medal make the Donnas two time champions? No, not quite. It also doesn't make them big losers though, and that is perhaps the best news about this record for the band's fans.

The record represents change for the band. Despite clocking in at a disappointingly short thirty four minutes, Gold Medal shows serious artistic growth for the band. Sonically, they've moved beyond being a female AC/DC, and lead vocalist Brett Anderson's songwriting has moved past the tales of drinking, late nights, and fun with boys. The fact that they are no longer calling each member "Donna A" or "Donna C" or "Donna whatever" also represents a refreshing change for the band, who had to deal with non stop Ramones comparisons.

But don't let the change in sound fool you, the band still knows how to rock, they just do so with improved variety. Have You No Pride has a slashing guitar riff that is refreshing, even if its tone is reminiscent of The Hives.

The rhythm section consisting of bassist Maya Ford and drummer Torry Castellano are solid for most of this record, with Ford laying down solid basslines that are the true foundation of many of these songs, and Castellano playing with both power and grace, depending on what's called for.

The fact that a Donnas record calls for "grace," or anything close to it, may be the biggest revelation for this disc. The title track has a swirling acoustic guitar riff and a slinking bassline that is unlike anything on any previous Donnas album. The song is only one of many on the album that deals with the end of relationships, and Anderson's voice, despite showing a decided lack of range, is able to convey emotion without coming off as overly whiny or desparate. Instead, she just sounds strong despite her thin voice.

I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me) has some playful guitar work from Allison Robertson, and the bouncy energy that the song has carries it through. Other highlights include the driving rock of Friends Like Mine, and the just plain fun Thin Lizzy inspired It's So Hard.

There are weaker tracks though, hence the lower rating of the album. The previously mentioned first single Fall Behind Me has grown on me a little bit, but not enough to actually make me like it. The song has a nice riff, but little else, and it may be the one point on the album where the songwriting is really just atrocious. Out of My Hands is another track that is just plain mediocre and rather forgettable. Even the swagger of It Takes One to Know One falls a bit short. This despite having probably the best lyrics on the record. It just goes to show that great lyrics with unimaginative, boring music won't get you very far.

With that being said, there's more than enough here to warrant a recommendation. It isn't Spend the Night, but I wouldn't want a carbon copy of that record. Instead, Gold Medal may be best viewed as a transitional record. A few years back, the Donnas trumped that they were turning 21 for an album title. But Gold Medal may just be the album that will be viewed in future years as their true mark of maturity.

3.5 stars.

More on The Donnas:

Spend the Night


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