Mensen - Oslo City
(Gearhead)
When this Norwegian quartet (three gals and a token male bassist) released their debut album, Delusions of Grandeur, it was impossible to miss who their influences were: all of their pseudonyms were puns on the names of the original girls in the garage. They even cover "Cherry Bomb" in case there was ever any doubt. For their sophomore effort, they've changed pseudonyms and personnel (there's at least a new guy in town), but these teeny-boppin' babes still are Runaways fans at heart and Oslo City continues to capture the raw, garagey enthusiasm of those initial albums from over a quarter of a century ago.
"Loud, fast rules" is the order of the day on punky anthems like "Keep Up!," and the album's highlight, "Start Over Again," with its dirty fuzzguitars and little-girl-lost vocals. Fans of recent "Joan Clones," The Donnas will also enjoy such toe-tapping, heart-stopping winners as "One Way Street," featuring a ripping solo from lead stringbender, Christine Sixteen; the '60s girl-group jangle of "Bosnia" (their most adventurous and mature recording to date); and the headbanging, Ramonesy "Sandy Starlight."
Only singer/songwriter Marie Currie's weak vocals (an occasionally tuneless, catlike, shrieking wail in the old school tradition of Siouxsie Sioux, Lydia Lunch, and Exene Cervenka) fail to excite, thus keeping them from the stratospheric delights of fella Scandy babes, Sahara Hotnights. But overall, this is a slight improvement on the debut with better playing and stronger tunes and will best be appreciated by fans of the Girls in the Garage series and those who felt The Donnas' career went downhill after they retired The Electrocutes' campy, garage posturing.
|
