On their second album's second song, "Walk Through
A Cloud," The Donkeys announce—in flawless three-part harmony, over a
Pacific-Time-keeping beat and implacable organ—that they left their baby
sad and blue and just don't know what to do. If that kind of stock emotion
sounds good, roll on up for Living On The Other Side, a mostly dull set of
technically accomplished Americana. Not quite as consistently glacial as the
Radar Brothers (don't even think of Galaxie 500), The Donkeys' particular blend
of sad songs is consistently underwhelming. They shoot themselves in the foot
with "Nice Train," a conspicuously upbeat scene-bashing number whose perkiness,
verve, and witty takedown of a typical night on the town—stealing wine
from gallery openings, hitting up the coffee shops—places the rest of the
album's inadequacy in greater relief. Singing collectively, The Donkeys'
choirboy harmonies remove any trace of individual personality or viewpoint, and
their lyrics seem copied from a songwriter's manual for archaic country. They
live up to their unfortunate name—plodding along, doing the work they
need to do and getting no further.