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The group's defiantly loose new disc once again kicks it independent-style, with a sparkling new set that augments signature old-school flows and girlish good humor with electro and new-wave flourishes.
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UncutBest of all are the lyrics, with fragments of nursery rhymes, playground chants, witty wordplay and light hearted braggadocio which, rather like The Go! Team, will leave you with a big, stupid smile on your face. [Oct 2007, p.101]
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The beats are tight, the rhymes are tighter and the ladies seem like they're having fun without trying too hard or taking themselves too seriously.
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Ultimately, while there probably isn't anything here truly great enough to draw any more attention to the band, this is a perfectly good album that displays an awful lot of potential.
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Alternative PressLike "Paul's Boutique," the results are as unexpected as they are lethal. [Nov 2007, p.176]
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Scatterbrained as Can I Keep This Pen? is, it would have fit perfectly in the catalog of the deceased Grand Royal, but somehow seems appropriate landing in Ipecac's strange and wonderfully eclectic lap.
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SpinSome halfhearted rhymes linger, but contagiously energetic political jams such as 'Cold War' make it easy to forget that it's been three years since anyone heard of Le Tigre. [Sep 2007, p.136]
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Like all their albums, it's haphazard, but never before have the highs been this high.
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Mojo'Mother May I?' and AdRock's 'Oooh Girl' are the most engaging and enetertaining of a solid selection. [Oct 2007, p.106]
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They can't be accused of not making spirited music, but Northern State are still looking for the right words to express their sensible worldview.
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The trio continues to build a career on the concept of a female take of "Licensed to Ill" ('The Three Amigas' is a near replica of 'Paul Revere'), but three albums in, the shtick wears thin.
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Calling them wack MCs isn't saying much though--they're the only MCs of their kind, competing only against themselves. No wonder they make music that sounds like it was made in a void: heart in the right place, perforated with off-key singing and C-grade rapping.
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A handful of songs, like 'Things I'll Do,' find Northern State at their zenith, perfect storms of concept, beat and lyrical cleverness. Others are catchy but inane. Enough are just insipid.