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Donnas: The bastard stepchildren of a romantic tryst between The Runaways and Girlschool, Palo Alto, California's favorite daughters are back with their fifth release (sixth if you include their pre-teen Electrocutes garage slopfest). As with The Ramones, AC/DC, and Motorhead, to name but a few, you know what's inside before you even crack open the jewelcase, so about the only mystery is how are they gonna put those three chords together this time out. Could we be in for an E-A-D earfull... a G-A-D grungefest... maybe even a goshdarn, death defying A-D-E halfcourt alley oop at the buzzer? And will their signing with/selling out to the establishment end up watering down their attack? Well, the results are in and our heroines are looking and sounding none the worse for wear. Aside from getting drunk on Diet Cokes ("All Messed Up"), there's the obligatory tales of sex, getting high, sex, getting drunk, sex, fast cars, stupid boyfriends ("Who Invited You?), sex, loser girlfriends ("It's Too Bad About Your Girl"), and, did I mention sex? I can't discern any appreciable difference in the production values, so that lucrative big league contract apparently didn't buy their way into any high falutin' 24-track recording studio, but then with this kind of music you certainly don't need fancy frills like that. The many highlights include the footstompin' "You Wanna Get Me High," which sounds like the first single (so naturally Atlantic releases the tame sleezefest, "Take It Off" instead), "I Don't Care (So There)," and, for a change of pace, a couple of enjoyable little cheerleader routines in the middle of "Pass It Around" and "Dirty Denim." Elsewhere, "All Messed Up" has hard driving, AC/DC riffs all over it, accompanied by an appropriate fist-in-the-air chorus, and I swear I recognized some old Doobie Brothers' riff sniffing around the opening notes of "Please Don't Tease." One thing that Atlantic's money has bought the girls, however, is some potentially lucrative product placement deals. We now know that Donna A is packing D-cups (hello, Victoria), and that they enjoy drinking Bud Dry ("It's On The Rocks"), Henessey ("I Don't Care (So There)"), and Tangueray ("Pass It Around"), and a few conveniently placed lyrics about Mercedes, Charlie Brown shirts, and Cavaricci shoes should be worth a few bucks down the road once this tops the million seller mark—although I'm still trying to figure out the Nightmare on Elm Street connection (Freddy's poster adorns the sleeve and he's namechecked in "5 O'Clock in the Morning"). Could they possibly have acting aspirations? They're now about the right age for those bimbo bloodbaths, so who knows. Keep an eye out for some over the top videos to show off their chops (early copies of the CD come with a bonus DVD featuring interview footage, a "Making of..." tell-all, and an animated video of "Do You Wanna Hit It?" from last year's Turn 21) leading to a "Coming soon in a theatre near you, it's...." Hey, this is all dirty old man, horny young jock basement fantasy material anyway and, besides they've already been featured (TWICE!) in Blender, Maxim's musical masturbation rag, er, mag. So, these swinging sorority sisters deliver again,. Of course it's silly and simple and the lyrics won't be nominated for any Pulitzer Prize in Poetry (although rhyming "Henessey" with "Tennessee" and the catchy couplet "Your hair is so dirty/It makes you look like you're thirty" are worth a few yucks), but hey, this is rock and roll not rocket science. So grab a cube o' brews, a carton of smokes, don't forget your helmets, and Spend the Night with The Donnas. Just don't expect them to be there in the morning.
Tuuli: Next on the hot plate is Tuuli. If, like most people, you're wondering, "What's a Tuuli?" I can tell you it's not Ice-Ts character on the American crime drama, Law & Order, rather a schoolmate of vocalist Jenny MacIsaac (formerly Jenny Vegas) and her band of young hotties (average age around 23), who just happen to be the hottest thing to emerge from the Toronto indie scene since their cross-town, foul-mouthed, hardcore compatriots, Kittie who are, musically, the Rolling Stones to Tuuli's Beatles. (In fact, this album has been nominated by Chart Action Magazine (Canada's answer to music industry journals, Billboard or Cash Box) for Album of the Year.) Or, perhaps more accurately, if you bought my analysis of The Donnas as the wide-eyed offspring of a musical marriage between The Runaways and The Ramones, Tuuli would be their poppier, lighter sounding kin from north of the border—think The Go-Go's and Blondie funneled through Cheap Trick, or, my personal favorite: Josie & The Pussycats and Jem meet Redd Kross. Formed five years ago by MacIsaac and her high school classmate, bassist Claire Blake, Tuuli's initial release was the Rockstar Potential EP on Seattle indie, Kill Rock Stars, and most of those tracks are included on this full-length debut (some appear on the limited edition EP—plus video tracks—that accompanies the first 5,000 copies). Leadoff track, "Wake Up," actually sounds like a punkier version of S Club 7 (I can hear the girls groaning already, but that's what I hear), while leadoff single, "It's Over" is not only the best 7" I've had all year, but also inaugurates a brand new sub-genre of alternative music that the world has been waiting for all these years: "bubblegum punk." "A Thousand Stars"' echoey guitars, keyboard flourishes, and wall-of-sound production rises several notches above its bubblegum surroundings and is just one of many songs which highlight the girls' exquisite harmonies. "Rockstar Boyfriends" kicks some serious ass and, along with the title track is one of the disk's hardest rockers, demonstrating there's more to Tuuli than bubblegum and lipstick. If my 14 year old is any indication, the current single, "Summer Song," with its Russ Ballard wall-of-guitar sound (think of most cover versions of his beloved "Since You've Been Gone" chestnut), is gonna be another massive hit, as she's been running around the house singing the "Yeah-Yeah-Yeah, Yeah-Yeah-Yeah-Yeah" chorus all week. (And no, they didn't cop that from The Rezillo's "Yeah Yeah," but that would make a nice segue on my radio show!) Kathy Wellenbrock's keyboards provide tasteful fills throughout, but I particularly enjoyed that extra melodic thrust they gave to "Who's the Fool Now?" another in the long line of wall-to-wall killer singles lurking within. My advice to the folks at Linus is to get this thing distributed in the lower 48 ASAP. Now excuse me while I go cast my vote at Chart Action.
Sahara Hotnights: Two of the hottest trends in rock and roll in 2002 were the re-emergence of chick rock and the Scandinavian indie scene and this winner from a bunch of prolific Swedish hotties (two full lengths, two EPs and about a dozen CD singles) combines both into one of the year's best releases. Checking in from the glammy side of life in the frozen tundra of Umeå (where the band formed back in '97) and mixing a lethal cocktail of Suzi Quatro and Slade with equal parts of Girlschool and the rougher edges of The Runaways—more Lita Ford than Joan Jett—the Hotbabes, er Hotnights stomp their hands and clap their feet with the opening anthemic rocker, "Alright Alright (Here's My Fist Where's The Fight?)" and the remainder of Jennie Bomb is chock full of one bootstomping shoutalong after another. Particular faves include "No Big Deal," with its Poly Styrene vocal inflections and X-Ray Spex teenaged angst which effectively updates "Oh Bondage, Up Yours!" for the 21st century and "Down and Out," a scorching shoutathon that is the closest approximation yet of what Girlschool might sound like if they were still treading the boards. "Fall Into Line"'s catchy, singalong chorus and stomping backbeat make it a good candidate for a single, while the angry mission statement of "We're Not Going Down" (er, well, uh, OK then) will have the teenies bopping in the aisles and shaking their fists to the heavens. "With or Without Control" is a nice change of pace that slows the Faster Pussycat Kill Kill beats down a few RPMs, but then it's back to the twin-guitar attack, shouted chorus, bootstomping backbeat, and glammy vibe of "Out of The System" sums up the whole fantastic mess in two words: Swedish Girlschool, although my hearty recommendation is to pick up Jennie Bomb for yourself and judge for yourself the young, independent Swedish rock and roll scene. There is indeed life after The Hives!
Fabulous Disasters: San Francisco's tattooed love girls, The Fab D's (not a bra size) combine the gorgeous Beach Boy-inspired pop harmonies and melodies of Tuuli with the crunchy, punky attack of The Donnas and The Runaways (whose drummer, Sandy West recently joined them on stage) on their second album. It's one of the year's best, and will have you head-banging through "Next Big Joy Ride" and pogoing yourself silly to "Painkiller," with Johnny Ramone-styled buzzsaw guitars from Lynda Mandolyn spinning wheelies around the rhythm section of drummer Sally Gess and bassist Mr. Nancy (neither of whom I'd like to meet in a dark alley), who propel the 14 short (most around 2:00) tracks forward at breakneck speed. Up on top, Laura Litter's cutie-pie, little girl vocals shout anthems about death, broken relationships, heroin, booze, pills, and Elastica songs on the radio! Occasionally, as in "My Addiction" and "Bi-Polar," she drifts a little too close to Gwen Stefani for my interest and the band admittedly sounds like No Doubt with balls (which, being lesbians, they'd probably enjoy the comparison), but "Short Fuse" is a refreshing, potty-mouthed Joan Jett-styled "Fuck You," and "Don't Wanna Sleep," "Yesterday's Gone" and "Hey Girl" are warm-hearted, big beat rockers. In sum, a rare treat in this world of punk rock posers: a band that the kids into Good Charlotte and the traditionalists who still listen to their old Ramones and Buzzcocks albums will enjoy with equal passion.
Manda and the Marbles: But, if you like your women a little warmer around the edges and your music a little more on the pop end of the spectrum, this reissue of Columbus, Ohio's Manda and The Marbles' second release, Seduction, with four bonus tracks is the album for you. More Seduction (the reissue title) is also more Go Go's, less Runaways... more Bangles, less Girlschool, and the Marbles have one of those great '80s power pop attacks reminiscent of Holly & The Italians (whose "I Wanna Go Home" is covered to great effect here), Nikki & The Corvettes, Martha & The Muffins, The Primitives, The Photos, and The Heaters. In fact, they can hold their own with the classic power pop riffage of male-dominated bands like The Pop, The Beat, 20/20, and Shoes. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay them is they are the 21st century Blondie: bubblegum hooks and power pop convertible music with the volume cranked to the max and the hair flowing in the breeze doing 90 mph down the freeway. Old timers may recognize the classic opening bass riff from "Public Image" on "Left Behind," which suggests that Manda has a great record collection and a commendable knowledge of power pop history. If only more of today's kids would do their (musical) homework, we wouldn't be inundated with so much copycat crapola. This is Friday night, weekend music for hanging out with your friends, partying until dawn, and if there is any justice in the music world, this will be the soundtrack of the summer of 2003. Hey kids, burn all those loser No Doubt records and come check out the real deal. Easily the year's best release so far!
While listening to three-chord punk rock performed by a bunch of good looking ladies in their early twenties is sort of the definition of the maligned term "ear candy," these are five of the best releases I've heard in the past few months. The girl group re-emergence comes much appreciated.
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