- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
The most striking aspect of Gold Medal is the band's remarkable maturation process over the past two years.
-
Alternative PressWe're skipping past Gold Medal's soggy, pub-folk title track toward an otherwise flawless album of glossy, commercial punk. [Dec 2004, p.142]
-
Their craft has gotten way deeper than hey-ho blitzkrieg bop.
-
UncutThey may be shamelessly role-playing their Joan Jett schtick, but The Donnas still out-rock earnest retro-bores like Jet and Kings Of Leon. [Dec 2004, p.157]
-
MojoThey've come within a hairclip's breadth of producing the rock'n'roll riot they always promised. [Dec 2004, p.114]
-
They churn out seriously fun, ballsy rock tunes with a wink and a nod.
-
BlenderHere, their frustration with scheming girlfriends and negligent boyfriends boils over into a cathartic froth. [Nov 2004, p.132]
-
One of the rare instances in which a band grew more interesting after looking away from punk and back toward classic-rock influences, Gold Medal fills in some of the blanks between the group's trademark three chords.
-
SpinThe Donnas... have zeroed in on their true obsession: obsession. [Dec 2004, p.117]
-
Entertainment WeeklyAs with many of their peers' stabs at maturity, professionalism often replaces raw power. [29 Oct 2004, p.66]
-
They've mostly dropped the songs that traded entirely on their sexuality, replacing them with tunes full of nuance and subtlety.
-
Five albums in, these ladies have outgrown their limited palette of good-time party tunes about boys, cars and getting high, and have tapped into an emotional well full of more bile than anyone could have expected.
-
FilterThere's... an unexpected intimacy in their nonchalance. [#13, p.92]
-
Brett Anderson has always been the weakest link, so pointing out weak rhymes and the frequent unconvincing moments (she’s upstaged by the background vocals on the highlight “It’s So Hard”) seems cruel.
-
While this release shows real growth, one questions if that's what Donnaholics are looking for.
-
On Gold Medal, even when they fail, it seems as if that failure is a result of The Donnas trying to carve their own identity rather than just being a cute cover band that ran out of ideas.
-
Gold Medal's tempos are sluggish and the lyrics are emotionally vacant.
-
New Musical Express (NME)Pleasantly tuneful pop-punk. [23 Oct 2004, p.51]
-
The lyrical sourness is less bothersome than their AC/DC posturing.
-
Unfortunately one great number can't save the whole act.
-
The band is learning to play their instruments better, but they’ve lost some aggression, which was the key to the little charm they had from the get-go.
-
Under The RadarUnoriginality at its best. [#8, p.109]
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 14 out of 17
-
Mixed: 2 out of 17
-
Negative: 1 out of 17
-
AmandaSep 19, 2006
-
samrApr 16, 2005Loved it!
-
MarkHApr 4, 2005