Every night I thank God that over the last few years
it’s become cool to play rock music again. Most
pop punk bands have abandoned said annoying trend
in favor of edgier fist pumpers and The Donnas are
a prime example. No longer are sugar punk darlings,
the girls now independent and playing a rawer pop
rock that is SO much more enjoyable than their major
label albums.
“Bitchin’” is a poppy, semi-glossy
rock record in the vein of Joan Jett without all the
teeth. Think cutesy like The Bangles but subtly angry
like Joan Jett. As a matter of fact, “Don’t
Wait Up For Me” could be up for a riff owning
lawsuit with Ms. Jett as it sounds uncannily like
“I Hate Myself For Loving You” in more
than a few spots. “Wasted” is a good song
that could stand to bit a little harder but is catchy
as they come. Same goes for “What Do I Have
to Do” (a great song to cruise down the interstate
to), “Smoke You Out,” and “Here
For the Party.” “When the Show is Over”
has a real late eighties rock feel to it, reminding
me a bit of what bands like Hurricane and Jetboy were
doing back then musically.
My only real complaint here is the same complaint
I have with all the band’s releases. The vocals
are ho hum at best, there’s just no dynamic
to them. Usually I prefer female voices because they
do such a wide variety of things so much better than
men’s voices but that’s just not the case
here. The rock oriented edge this album has deserves
a more incredible set of vocals. Still though this
is an undeniable step in a better direction for The
Donnas and I’m interested to see what these
veterans do from here.
Key Tracks: “When the Show is Over,”
“Wasted,” “Don’t Wait Up For
Me”
Reviewed by Mark Fisher |
