The Donnas' self-titled debut album presents the girls as the most convincing Ramones ripoff band ever. Song titles like "
Get Rid of That Girl", "
I Don't Want to Go to School", and "
Teenage Runaway" should make this painfully obvious. Their three-chord punk songs have an innocent sound that is upended, as most of their lyrics consist of tales of teenage rebellion ("
I Don't Wanna Go" and "
Get Rid of That Girl") and drug use ("
Huff All Night", "
Everybody's Smoking Cheeba", and "
Friday Fun"). What makes this slight record so much fun is the tempo of the music, the lo-fidelity recording, and high-school cheerleader backing vocals that give the songs a "rah-rah" excitement. Like most complaints about the Ramones, all of the songs on
The Donnas sound the same - but at least it's a good song.
The Donnas review by allmusic.com