Lately I’ve been craving some girl punk, and good girl punk can be hard to find. The female voice isn’t necessarily suited to screaming, and “singing punk” is something of an oxymoron. Thank god for the Donnas.

Guys like them because they’re cute. Girls like them because they seem like the type of friends you’d like to have a sleepover with. Oh yeah, they play instruments and write music too… and they’re really, really good at it. The Donnas can rock with the best of them, which makes it hard to stay seated while their music is blaring. This is definitely the kind of punk rock that you just have to jump around to.

The vocals are strong and all four girls play to kick ass. The lyrics are smart, funny and unabashedly girly. “Dirty Denim,” a personal favorite, is a song about a bad fashion trend and the pretty boy rockers who popularized it. “Too Bad About Your Girl” is another standout that just drips with sarcasm. And they’re not afraid of sex either, as they prove with songs like “Please Don’t Tease” and “Take Me to the Backseat.” Lyrics like, “You shouldn’t look so good if you don’t want to be misunderstood” combine irony and flirtation with stellar results.

Spend the Night is a great album – definitely worth your money – and I will be dancing and singing along with The Donnas for a while to come.

[Angela Potter also hates dirty denim, but doesn’t mind the pretty boys.]

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