Turn 21 - Donnas (The)

...of physical sport, and in turn the hunter and the hunted -

"Let's play ball, we don't need a court
just you and me baby full contact sport"

- and continue in pursuit of an elusive lay and laudable attempts at seduction -

"I'll let you flip my flipper
If you let me unzip your zipper"

---
5. MIDNITE SNACK

The vocals get a bit low here, ...
...more mature and 'tight'. With Turn 21 it feels like there is still room for improvement, but this was out almost 5 years ago and a band's earlier releases are often a lot better and lack too much studio interference.

There are only a few songs that stand out from the rest, but it doesn't make the album any less enjoyable for me. You can easily sing along to all of the tracks (almost always and important factor for me, being the karaoke ... more

Four girls... one dream... many influences.

Beer and liqour, mostly.

KISS, L7, Bikini Kill, The Runaways, The Ramones... these and many more are the artistes that these girls have been compared to or listed as their idols. Not only do these girls kick ass musically, but they verbally mauled a right twat of a misogynistic 'reporter' who asked if they shared their monthlies. I think it would have been a better rebuttal if they'd done an Donita Sparks to him (search and ye shall find).
During their senior year at high school they had to take a week off to tour Japan - Now, surely THAT impresses you!

For those of you who recall my 'Spend The Night' review (those who don't - I'm very disappointed in you), I described in length about what drew me to the band. I don't believe in repeating myself, so if you're curious you know where to go... literally.

+ THE BAND +

Adored by fans and dismissed by critics as cleverly using a jailbait image to shift records, the line up is

Donna A - Vocals (Brett Anderson)
Donna C - Drums / Backing Vocals (Torry Castellano)
Donna F - Bass / Backing Vocals (Maya Ford)
Donna R - Guitar / Backing Vocals (Allison Robertson)

+ THE ALBUM +

Released January 2001.

1. ARE YOU GONNA MOVE IT FOR ME

A throbbing constant bassline, insistant hi-hat, guitar strumming... the intro. Compared to later releases, one notices that Brett's voice is a bit higher - the years of smoking blunts must be responsible. Bless. A laid back track, not quite something you can 'rock out' to, but something you can at least tap your foot to and sing along while chugging on a beer (or 2 litre bottle of cider. Ahem.) while half-bitching about hypocrites and two faced so-and-so's.

"You wanna meet me
but you wrote a bad review of our show
If you don't like us
what are you doing standing in the front row?"

---
2. DO YOU WANNA HIT IT

Up the tempo, add some rousing guitar work, some attitude, and tales of getting totally trashed and totally laid and you've got a combination that makes this the best track of the album. It's a tune you can sing along to, dance along to, and rock along to (and possibly do something else along to, as well... it's insinuated in the lyrics, you figure it out)

"I can't stand up but that's okay
so let's crawl to the back of my Chevrolet
But check your door, make sure you lock it
coz you got something for me in your pocket"

---
3. 40 BOYS IN 40 NIGHTS

These girls sure get around! Another laid back tune that although lacks a polished feel, has an attractive raw-ness and immaturity to it's sound that makes it acceptable.
Cowbells and dirty paced riffs contribute to the story of life on tour for the girls, and the awful time they have with guys in every city bickering over who can carry the girls' equipment. And cop a feel if they're lucky.

"Makin' out all night in Hollywood
you know I'd do 'em all if I could
My honey in Stuttgart doesn't care
that I collect their underwear"

---
4. PLAY MY GAME

The drums seem to lead the rebellion in this track, from beginning to it's gleeful end, throughout which the vocals begin like a pep rally talk before the bass and guitar burst in to back it all up. The lyrics reflect the theme of physical sport, and in turn the hunter and the hunted -

"Let's play ball, we don't need a court
just you and me baby full contact sport"

- and continue in pursuit of an elusive lay and laudable attempts at seduction -

"I'll let you flip my flipper
If you let me unzip your zipper"

---
5. MIDNITE SNACK

The vocals get a bit low here, a sure sign of wanting to get down and dirty according to women's magazines' sex tips. Distorted riffs lead us forcefully into the catchy debauched desire of luring a guy away from his girlfriend for some forbidden fondling. As I have previously said - all's fair in love and war / sex and no sex.

"I just wanna borrow you
and a box of cereal too
Don't have a heart attack
coz you can have her back
I just want you for a midnite snack"

---
6. DRIVIN' THRU MY HEART

Argh if the title alone wasn't so cheesy that even Country music rejected it, the lyrics are as well. A well paced tempo you can nod your head or tap your foot to, and of course you can sing along woefully while lamenting the no-good cad who dumped you and didn't waste time in getting another girl. Fairly average song, though catchy to a point. And kudos to the girls for paying attention in biology!

"I need a doctor kinda sorta
what's wrong with me?
He said there's a skidmark on my aorta
and there's no remedy"

---
7. YOU'VE GOT A CRUSH ON ME

As we know, there's confidence and then there's arrogance, and I'm not entirely sure which category this falls under. Writing a song with a title like this takes balls. Lyrically and musically average, not really anything worth writing home about.

"You're all alone
your friends all left cause you were waiting for me
You call my phone
but you'll never get past my caller I.D."

---
8. LITTLE BOY

Ahh looking down on the irritating antics of the opposite sex. They're dirty, smelly, stupid, and all the other things that the David & Goliath range tells us boys are.
A fast paced and fairly upbeat track, granted it seems to be of the 3 chord kind, but is still fun to sing along to while looking a right eejit trying to dance around with a can of beer in your hand. (No photographs, thankfully!)

"You can try to figure me out
but you'll never know what girls are about
And all those things that I said yesterday
I didn't mean them anyway"

---
9. DON'T GET ME BUSTED

When boredom strikes in a relationship, what do you do? You get up to no good with the cute boy who works in the corner shop and hope your boyfriend doesn't catch you. Err... right.
The pronounced low hooks stand out and give a dirty 70s feel while the distortion adds to it's wonderful sleaziness.

"My heart needed a vacation
I had to change the radio station
I just wanted something new
and I needed someone new to do"

---
10. POLICE BLITZ

You get pulled over by a cop and what do you do? You drag him into the car for a make out session and to get stoned. I'm not going to address those rumours you often hear about corrupt law enforcement workers...
Nothing complicated or outstanding here musically, but it's still ear candy (like eye candy - a bit generic but still enjoyable to a degree that doesn't require much mental stimulation).

"Roll up the windows make it airtight
breakin' the law never felt so right
Gimme a kiss, gimme all that you got
c'mon hit me with your best shot"

---
11. HOT PANTS

Steady guitar riffs and drum beats open the track, which is full of disdain and perhaps even pity for a girl who wants to be the girls all the boys lust after but fails rather miserably at it for various reasons (wrong hair, head gear, sheer desperation?).
A fun song, again to sing and dance badly to.

"Hey little girl you're tryin' to get with my guy
I've got two words - 'hands off' - or baby I'll make you cry
I don't pull hair and I don't fight dirty
but piss me off at 9 and you're lunchmeat by 9:30"

---
12. GIMME A RIDE

A song to play on the booze run to the off license. The premise of the song is, as the title suggests, getting a lift to a last minute party. Ingenius!
With the rhythm and riffage, it's easy to imagine cruising along with the windows rolled down with the last beer in your hand, on a mission to replenish the booze.

"Speedin' up 'cause we're runnin' late
take the shortcut by the Super 8
I have to make it across the Bay Bridge
fast enough to put the beer in the fridge"

---
13. LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT

Judas Priest are one of many who the Donnas have sought to honour by covering their work.
The vocals are dirty, the guitars are distorted, the lyrics are anthemic, and the girls remain loyal to the original while putting their own inimitable sound into it. Definitely one of the best tracks on the album with a laid back but hard-ass feel to it. It must be all that talk about metal that does it.

"Got gleaming chrome reflecting steel
loaded, loaded
Ready to take on every deal
loaded, loaded
My pulse is racing, I'm hot to take
this motors revved up, fit to break"

---
14. NOTHING TO DO

Taking on a slightly more punk speed than the previous tracks, the girls have run out of booze and entertainment and have taken drinking cough syrup out of desperation, which I absolutely cannot say I have done ever. Honestly...

"I got double vision so I better stay in
the coast is clear so let's start huffin'
We're sniffin' everything under the sink
and all I really wanted was another drink"

If that weren't enough, there's someone who sounds like they're on helium singing some kind of version of Drivin' Thru My Heart, which starts after the 6:30 minute mark on track 14. Bizarre but seems to fit the girls' humour perfectly since they're unafraid of taking the piss and dressing up as boys, or occasionally Motley Crue.

+ THE CONCLUSION +

It seems that with each album The Donnas release, their sound gets more mature and 'tight'. With Turn 21 it feels like there is still room for improvement, but this was out almost 5 years ago and a band's earlier releases are often a lot better and lack too much studio interference.

There are only a few songs that stand out from the rest, but it doesn't make the album any less enjoyable for me. You can easily sing along to all of the tracks (almost always and important factor for me, being the karaoke queen that I am), and while many would accuse this as simple power-pop-punk, I'd say 'feck off' and remind them that the girls have more credibility and talent than most of their male counterparts. And also to shut the hell up.

In a way I wish I hadn't taken a step backward and heard this after 2002's Spend The Night when the performances had improved, but it doesn't make me appreciate it any less.

All in all, it's a must-buy for any fans, though I'm sure non-fans would get at least some entertainment out of it.

+ OUTSTANDING LINES +

"If you didn't come to party why did you bother coming at all
and if you wanna get it on, take it to the bathroom stall"
- Are You Gonna Move It For Me?

"All messed up and I don't care
so c'mon take off your underwear"
- Do You Wanna Hit It

"I just wanted something new
and I needed someone new to do"
- Don't Get Me Busted

"Gimme your badge, baby gimme your gun
gonna show you how to have some fun"
- Police Blitz

"Hey little girl you put the ho in ho ho's
and you're in my face and I wanna break your nose"
- Hot Pants

"It says drink one so we chug four
hey what happened to the floor"
- Nothing To Do

--
I purchased my copy from ebay for about a fiver (I can't check it in my bidding history, damn!)

ebay.co.uk - from £1.50
amazon.co.uk - from £5.59
hmv.co.uk - £10.99

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www.thedonnas.com
www.atlanticrecords.com/thedonnas 

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