Less cartoonish and contrived than
the Donnas, New Jersey's co-ed
Highschool Sweethearts cover a similar
Ramones-inspired terrain on
Heels N Wheels with more persuasive results. Steered by guitarist John Steele and frontwoman Cynthia Santiglia,
the Sweethearts fuse pop with punk and sprinkle it with garage dust while ditching the
AC/DC baseball jerseys for the love of
Blondie, as evidenced by "Everybody." Buzzsaw guitars steer "Cherry Hi-Way," a hook-injected song that recalls
the Primitives and
Transvision Vamp, and if the band's straight-up take on
David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" offers little in the way of innovation, the group plays with the kind of energy and passion that's hard to discount. ~ John D. Luerssen