PENS Hey Friend What You Doing? (De Stijl)
4/5
By: Bronya Francis
PENS. What do we know about PENS? Well, the dictionary on a standard MacBook dashboard defines ‘pen’ thusly: ‘an instrument for writing or drawing with ink, typically consisting of a metal nib or ball, or a nylon tip, fitted into a metal or plastic holder’. An everyday object, small, discreet and harmless… yawn. Don’t fear, because there are three London girls that couldn’t be more different; they will totally change your view of the demure little writing instrument with their brutal DIY punk-thrash mayhem.
The songs on PENS’ debut LP Hey Friend! What You Doing? are condensed into unusually short spaces of time, but that just makes them so much better. The opening track is an awesome start - the slickly-synched guitar intro is a sonic tapping of the fingers but you don’t have to wait long ‘til the rowdy girly voices enter, doing nothing less than what you would call singing in rounds. The cool synthesized organ instrumental break on the second track fits in weirdly well with the untamed symbol tapping alongside it.
‘High In The Cinema’ is one of the stand-out tracks, for the sole reason that there are some distinguishable lyrics in this song, so you can actually sing along to the refrain: “we got no money and we’re gonna break in” (I think they’re the words anyway… still not quite sure?). And as PENS brag “we got high in the cinema, high in the cinema” you can’t help but be a bit jealous that you weren’t there with them. Balancing out the catchier tunes are a plethora of fast-paced raucous tracks that make you want to either pogo or make a death pyramid; I’d recommend the latter, safer option.
It would be easy to compare the three-piece punk girl group to their seniors The Slits; however, PENS have taken their old school punk riffs and stripped them down to their bare bones, adding their own eclectic East London, authentically homemade panache. The girls have penned (apologies for the god-awful pun) an awesome album. It is the more-than-minimal production that makes it so great to listen to; granted, you have to be in the right mood- you’re not going to listen to it as you tuck into bed at night with milk and cookies, and the over-distorted, muffled vocals mean you can’t hear a word the girls are singing... but hey, you can just sort of howl along with the CD and make up your own lyrics which is obviously the most fun way to do it. The band’s name is in capitals for Christ’s sake - it’s literally SCREAMING at you to have a listen.
Artists in this article: PENS
Your Feedback
PENS Hey Friend What You Doing? (De Stijl)
Rating 3
Easily as cool as Lovvers, Mika Miko, Wavves et al, and with none of the pretentiousness that often suffocates all meaningful discussion of the aforementioned bunch. Proof that anyone could, and...Login to post your comment