Fuller and more thought-out than their previous releases,
the Donnas
'
Spend the Night
furthers the band's evolution from their "what if
the Ramones
were chicks" vibe into a really cohesive hard rock band. The straightforward lyrics still revolve around "Tonight we're gonna party," "Let's get high in the backseat of my car," and "I'm gonna steal you away from your girl," but using these tried-and-true rock & roll themes with
' equally simple song structures, their sound and message achieve a kind of rock purity that seems miles away from all of the
Britneys
and
Christina Aguileras
out there. Their allegiance to the sound of simplistic party rock bands that were around in the late '70s/early '80s (
Kiss
,
Cheap Trick
Moetley Cruee
) joins forces with the snarl of the tough girl groups of that same era (
Blondie
the Pretenders
Joan Jett
) in a way that hasn't been heard on a major label in at least a decade. Special recognition deserves to go to guitarist
Donna R.
/
Allison Robertson
whose
Ace Frehley
fascination used to be cute and now sounds as though it has erupted into a full-blown obsession, but somehow she still manages to put a heavier Southern rock/
Angus Young
spin on the riffs, demonstrating a real attention to craft that wouldn't have even occurred to them on their 1998 debut. Despite all of this maturity,
ain't no
Mantovani
; the perpetually teenaged foursome still have their raw edges and sharp teeth, it's just that the edges rip deeper and the teeth bite harder with this more efficient and well-crafted rock assault. [An Expanded Edition of
was released in 2016, featuring five bonus tracks: "Hyperactive," "Rock 'n' Roll Machine," "Mama's Boy," "Play My Game," and "Backstage."] ~ Zac Johnson