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While this release shows real growth, one questions if that's what Donnaholics are looking for.
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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.
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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]
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The most striking aspect of Gold Medal is the band's remarkable maturation process over the past two years.
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MojoThey've come within a hairclip's breadth of producing the rock'n'roll riot they always promised. [Dec 2004, p.114]
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New Musical Express (NME)Pleasantly tuneful pop-punk. [23 Oct 2004, p.51]
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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.
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Under The RadarUnoriginality at its best. [#8, p.109]
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The lyrical sourness is less bothersome than their AC/DC posturing.
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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.
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SpinThe Donnas... have zeroed in on their true obsession: obsession. [Dec 2004, p.117]
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Entertainment WeeklyAs with many of their peers' stabs at maturity, professionalism often replaces raw power. [29 Oct 2004, p.66]
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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]
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BlenderHere, their frustration with scheming girlfriends and negligent boyfriends boils over into a cathartic froth. [Nov 2004, p.132]
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FilterThere's... an unexpected intimacy in their nonchalance. [#13, p.92]
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They churn out seriously fun, ballsy rock tunes with a wink and a nod.
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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.
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Unfortunately one great number can't save the whole act.
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They've mostly dropped the songs that traded entirely on their sexuality, replacing them with tunes full of nuance and subtlety.
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Gold Medal's tempos are sluggish and the lyrics are emotionally vacant.
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Their craft has gotten way deeper than hey-ho blitzkrieg bop.
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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.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 17
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Mixed: 2 out of 17
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Negative: 1 out of 17
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AmandaSep 19, 2006
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samrApr 16, 2005Loved it!
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MarkHApr 4, 2005