The Donnas' self-titled debut album presents the girls as the most convincing
Ramones ripoff band ever. Song titles like "Get Rid of That Girl," "I Don't Want to Go to School," and "Teenage Runaway" should make this painfully obvious. Their three-chord punk songs have an innocent sound that is upended, as most of their lyrics consist of tales of teenage rebellion ("I Don't Wanna Go" and "Get Rid of That Girl") and drug use ("Huff All Night," "Everybody's Smoking Cheeba," and "Friday Fun"). What makes this slight record so much fun is the tempo of the music, the lo-fidelity recording, and high-school cheerleader backing vocals that give the songs a "rah-rah" excitement. Like most complaints about
the Ramones, all of the songs on
The Donnas sound the same -- but at least it's a good song. ~ Brian Flota