The chance to crack the whip on the skinny arse of the new rock revolution has obviously spurred The Donnas onto great things. Come to think of it, they were probably too busy partying to read the music press.
Slightly tamer than the narcotics list on Queens Of The Stone Age's 'Feel Good Hit Of The Summer' but as ballsy as anything you'll hear all year, 'Spend The Night' administers a damn good seeing to, leaving you gasping for a breather, but there's fat chance of that. As the early 21st century philosopher Andrew WK once proclaimed: "When it's time to party we will always party hard."
'Spend The Night' isn't the sound of The Donnas growing up or maturing since their teenage emergence in '98 - somehow those aren't quite the words. Honing their Blitzkrieg routine and knowing what they want and how to get it are probably more accurate descriptions. And don't be fooled by their innocent poses on the album cover, they may come across more Britney Spears than Courtney Love but try spending an hour in their company and then seeing if the butter won't melt.
Dispensing with pleasantries early on, 'Spend The Night' gets straight to the nitty gritty. We're whisked to the back seat, to the bar and under the covers (if you get that far). Relationships are measured in hours rather than years and in pain rather than pleasure. Don't moan, take it like a man, they're going to screw you over so just enjoy it.
'It's On The Rocks' is a 'gentle' opener: "We're over I'm done/Yeah it's time to have some real fun/So I'm callin' all my ladies/We're gonna key your Mercedes." Once the debauched tone is set there's no let up, through 'Take It Off', 'All Messed Up' and 'Please Don't Tease', where comic put downs comes thick and fast: "I got bad news/I wasn't winking/It was just the booze."
By the end you're pretty aux fait with the morals of the stories: er, there are none. Get high, get laid, get out, get in and get lost. Get it? The Donnas are the most in-your-face female rockers since L7 but far more appealing. They're the sound of a thousand punk rock bands before them (naming them all would take too long) suffice to say like an all-group turning their hand to remaking 'Appetite For Destruction'. The only difference here is that their night doesn't end with rehab, death and recrimination, it just goes on and on.
Sex, drugs and rock n'roll the like of which we haven't heard for ages.
