Not to be a complete curmudgeon or anything, but how many of these bands do we seriously need? I should first clarify that in my heart, there will always be a place for crummy, DIY lo-fi-- it might not be the most original shit in the world, but when applied with vigor and creativity, you've got some potentially exciting stuff on your hands. When paired with rote punk variations, laziness that's been confused for brattiness and a profound propensity for short, shambling pop-punk tunes that are as aimless as they are irritating, well, you've got the London-based female trio Pens-- they can't play, shout directionlessly at each other most of the time, and make sure that each song on their debut Hey Friend, What You Doing? sounds exactly like the one before it, a pastiche of uninformed garage footnotes, slug-and-chug hardcore rhythms and boneheaded tee-hee in-jokes.
It's not that Pens don't have the steps down or that the dance is tired, but this particular brand of raucous, don't-give-a-fuck pogo-fuel can't be this empty and boring. If more of Friend sounded like the single "Freddy" or maybe "High in the Cinema", we'd be in business. Carried by a way-cool keyboard melody, four-on-the-floor guitars and the girls' gleefully trying to outshine one another (and occasionally coming in once in a while to shout along together), "Freddy" is not only fun, but memorable and repeat-worthy. Even the oi! punk of "High in the Cinema" (which, in all fairness, isn't much of a song) boasts a sly cleverness ("We got no money! We gotta break in!") that compliments Pens' aesthetic and could have potentially saved portions of Friend, though on second thought, maybe it's too slippery a slope to applaud a clever idea from a band that writes songs titled "Yeah Baby I'll Take You to Bagel Town" and "Fuckufuckinfuck".
The varying degrees of lo-finess make this thing sound even more thrown together. There's a distinct, nearly unlistenable tinniness on "Networking" that's a world away from the fuzzed out bassiness of opener "Horsies" (which also boasts a semi-interesting keyboard lick-- maybe something they might want to think about in the future), suggesting Friend was something pieced together and mailed off right before the post closed. And yes, I'm well aware this was recorded in a bunch of different places with shoddy equipment, but unfortunately you can't make such convenient excuses for the laggard songwriting. Taking into account that they are likely too busy making artwork for Wavves and name-checking Thruston Moore, I'm guessing that these girls probably care less about this band than we initially could assume, but hey, that's what you get when even the band name is a dick joke. But if for nothing else, Pens do provide much needed contrast in the whole lo-fi debate, proving that, sure, anyone can probably do this, but don't don't act surprised when it comes out half-baked.
