Gold Medal by The Donnas

Gold Medal, the Donnas' sixth album, came out on Atlantic on October 26, 2004, and it's the sound of the Palo Alto four-piece easing off the gas, just a little. Drummer Torry Castellano's tendonitis had put her under the knife for wrist surgery ahead of Lollapalooza 2003, so the band started rehearsing slower songs, and guitarist Allison Robertson took the extra room to stretch out. After a false start with Scott Litt, they cut it with Butch Walker at Black in Back and Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood in the summer of 2004.

It's still hard rock in the Spend the Night mold, Brett Anderson sneering up top, but the riffs carry more swagger than speed. Critics mostly liked it and singled out Robertson's playing, though some found the lyrics thin. "Fall Behind Me" led the charge, and "I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me)" followed the next spring.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.