Gold Medal is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Donnas, released on October 26, 2004 through Atlantic Records. Leading up to an appearance at the Lollapalooza 2003 festival, drummer Torry Castellano suffered from De Quervain Tendonitis, prompting wrist surgery. The band began rehearsing slower-tempo material, allowing guitarist Allison Robertson to experiment with her playing style. Following a false-start with Scott Litt, the band started working with producer Butch Walker. Sessions were held at Black in Back and Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, California in June and July 2004. Gold Medal is a hard rock album that continues the sound of their fifth studio album Spend the Night.

Gold Medal received generally favourable reviews from music critics, some praising the band's musicianship and specifically highlighting Robertson's guitar playing, while others felt it lacked lyrical substance. The album sold over 13,000 copies in its first week of release, peaking at number 76 on the Billboard 200. "Fall Behind Me" was released as the lead single in October 2004, and the band promoted the album with the US tour at the end of 2004. "I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me)" was released as the second single from the album in March 2005, which was followed by a supporting slot for Maroon 5 on the Honda Civic Tour.

Background and recording

The Donnas released their fifth studio album Spend the Night in October 2002. Its lead single "Take It Off" peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Modern rock radio chart. Their profile grew when they appeared on covers for magazines, as well as perform on TV shows such as Saturday Night Live and Total Request Live. In preparation for Lollapalooza 2003, drummer Torry Castellano began suffering from De Quervain Tendonitis. Post-operation, they started rehearsing material for their next album in 2004, opting to play slower-tempo songs as Castellano was still recovering. Guitarist Allison Robertson said this choice allowed her to "explore parts that had more funk and feeling" to them.

Around this time, the band's label Atlantic Records was undergoing personnel changes stemming from the company's owner Warner Music Group switching investors. In June and July 2004, the band and Walker recorded drums at Black in Back studio, before moving to Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Paul David Hager served as the main engineer throughout recording, while Seth Waldman, Tony Rambo and Lars Fox acted as assistant engineers. They collaborated together instead of letting one individual do a bulk of the writing, resulting in a more melodic sound, aided by Walker's past production work with Lavigne and Simple Plan.

The opening track to Gold Medal, "I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me)", talks about a disintegrating relationship and is reminiscent of the work of Ash. It is followed by the mid-tempo hard rock track "Friends Like Me", which evokes the sound of the Stooges and the Who. The metallic "Don't Break Me Down" discusses trying to make a relationship work after having moved on quickly from past partners. The softer-sounding "Is That All You've Got for Me" marked the first time the band uses acoustic guitars in their music, adding elements of rockabilly. The blues-indebted "Out of My Hands" tackles the theme of a long-distance relationship. Kel Munger of News & Review said the power ballad "Revolver" is an "ode to love gone truly, truly bad". "Fall Behind Me" was posted online on September 1, 2004, and was released as a single on October 11, 2004. Gold Medal was released on October 26, 2004; coinciding with this, the band members dropped their Ramones-esque stage names in favor of their actual names. Initial promotion was focused on reaching fans through online advertisements and listening parties.

Gold Medal was one of the first albums released in the DualDisc format, alongside Still Not Getting Any... (2004) by Simple Plan, but was recalled due to a mastering error on the CD side of the album. Warner Music Group provided the affected song on the band's website and allowed buyers to return it for a standard CD copy. The DVD side of it included the album in 5.1 surround sound, the music video for "Fall Behind Me", a behind-the-scenes feature on that video, in addition to lyrics for the album's tracks. In January 2005, the band performed at Big Day Out in Australia. The track was released as a single on March 7, 2005. They then supported Maroon 5 on the Honda Civic Tour until May 2005.

Reception

Gold Medal was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 70, based on 22 reviews.

The staff at Pitchfork wrote that Robertson's guitarwork has improved with each subsequent release, "gut here she's really tearing it up, giving Gold Medal a more dynamic feel". Lollipop Magazine writer Ari M. Joffe, on the other hand, said Robertson's "blazing guitar playing" had been "either completely stripped away, or toned way down". Pitchfork shared a similar sentiment, stating: "The recycled riffs and too-easy lyrical cheese are occasionally still in play". Rock Hard reviewer Marcus Schleutermann wrote that what they had "undoubtedly gained in profile," they had "lost the obvious hit factor". Exclaim! writer Liz Worth said the album "gives off a clean, pop-studded sound, but falls a little flat" when compared to their previous works, and aside from a few highlights, "much of the album blurs together". The Guardian Dorian Lynskey wrote that whether the change is sound has "done them good, though, is debatable", spotlighting the "lyrical sourness [that has become] less bothersome than their AC/DC posturing". It sold over 13,000 copies in its first week of release, reaching number 76 on the Billboard 200. By June 2007, the album has sold 87,000 copies in the US; 79,000 of these were sold in its first year, under-selling Spend the Night first year sales of 360,000. Neuman theorised that the latter had a "real pop visibility and a pop fan base. But that's a transient fan base—they love it and then leave it. They're not going to be lifelong fans". She also attributed the drop to the failure of the DualDisc format, which she felt may have dismayed fans.

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Personnel

Personnel per booklet.

The Donnas

  • Brett Anderson – lead vocals, piano
  • Allison Robertson – guitars, backing vocals
  • Maya Ford – bass, backing vocals
  • Torry Castellano – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Design

  • Greg Gigendad Burke – art direction, design
  • James Jean – cover illustration
  • Katrina Dixon – photography
  • Sam Buffa – studio photography
  • Charlie Becker – logo

Production

  • Butch Walker – producer
  • Paul David Hager – engineer
  • Seth Waldman – assistant engineer
  • Tony Rambo – assistant engineer
  • Lars Fox – assistant engineer
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Keith Armstrong – assistant engineer
  • Dmitar Kranjaic – assistant engineer
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Sarah Register – assistant engineer

Charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (2004)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)

| 94

|-

! scope="row"| Billboard 200

| 76

|}

References

Citations

Sources

<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->

  • Gold Medal at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)