Music Disc Reviews

Can I Keep This Pen? Ipecac Music •••• Sound ••••

My homies (from the same high school on Long Island) have bolted from Columbia and are now chillin' with the freaks at Ipecac. But don't expect a fem version of the Melvins on this third release, produced by Adam Horovitz (alias Adrock of the Beastie Boys) and Caleb Shreve (alias Chuck Brody of Shitake Monkey). Instead, Spero, Hesta Prynn, and Sprout stay true to their riot-grrrlish rap on booming rump-shakers like "iluvitwhenya" and sped-up mofos like, well, "Sucka Mofo." And as they enhance their sound with hearty electro-rock and heaps of singing, they aim their mikes at apathy in the punky, guitar-drenched "Cold War," horse around about the Prez in the twangy "Cowboy Man," and dis a guy they still wanna do with the love song "Away Away." As long as they write this well, Northern State can keep all the pens they want.

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