Record Rack

You will never catch the Donnas ripping off their clothes for a television audience a la Britney Spears, especially not at the behest of some aging fool like LL Cool J. On its fourth album, the Palo Alto-based quartet again makes it loud and clear that appeasing the opposite sex isn’t in the Donnas’ nature.

Not that the Donnas don’t like boys. They just know the lads can’t keep up. “You can play my game,” Donna A. sings with smug sweetness, “but I’ll put you to shame.”

Her slightly bored, guileless vocals provide the necessary understatement to Donna R.’s brash, zesty guitar barrages. The band (which headlines the Roxy on Feb. 22 and 23) mixes more glam-rock licks into its high-octane blend of punk-pop and metal, providing a satisfying swagger to tunes chronicling the suburban youth customs of drinking, hanging out and getting into trouble.

Ratcheting the sexual tension higher than the cherry-bomb playfulness of 1999’s “Get Skintight,” these songs demand action (“Do You Wanna Hit It”) and taunt hopeless suitors (“Little Boy”). True, “Drivin’ Thru My Heart” (which owes a major debt to the Go-Go’s) reveals a chink in the tough-chick armor, but it’s at best an unsentimental vulnerability. Besides, “Turn 21” (in stores Tuesday) is more about partying on, complete with the traditional Donnas version of a heavy-metal classic (Judas Priest’s “Livin’ After Midnight”). So forget the dancing girls and bring on the ladies who rock!

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.