Lo-fi recording techniques have been a regular fixture in the history of independent and DIY music since the 60s. For many left-of-the-dial artists, it was not merely a financial necessity, but also an integral aesthetic component that captured the music in its rawest state, acting as a commentary on the artificiality of polished studio production. Even as studio amenities have become more readily available to emerging bands, the lo-fi impulse, exemplified by the so-called “shitgaze” movement, have only gained traction. Yet while lo-fi recording does serve to underscore the notion of "authenticity" — at the very least, it more closely resembles how the band sounds live — in its own way, it’s every bit as contrived as the most bloated studio extravagance. After all, just as high-end production is often used to gloss over shoddy musicianship and stagnant songwriting, basement-quality recording can be wielded as a get-out-of-jail-free card for passing off underdeveloped sketches as finished works of GREAT ARTISTIC MERIT.
That’s kind of where I run aground with London’s Pens. If you strip away all the fuzz and dissonance and plug these ladies into a decent set of amps, you’d end up with a lot of songs that wouldn’t sound out of place on Punk-O-Rama Volume 69 (or whatever they’re on at this point). That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Hey Friend, What You Doing? bristles with plucky three-chord nuggets galore, from the sappy, swooning “I Sing Just for You” to more aggressive fare like “Hide the Kids.” The tracks that stand out the most, like “1-2” and “High in the Cinema,” turn on timely dynamic shifts that show admirable pop sensibility. Yet I can’t help but feel that if the band had made this same record with better equipment — or, put more provocatively, if this had been a Nitro record and not a De Stijl record — a good portion of their current audience wouldn’t give them a second thought.
What does this mean, if it means anything at all? I realize that by positing such a claim I’m heading into the shaky territory of artist’s intent and the separation of style from content, but I can’t help but see the low production values on this album as a gimmick intended to add depth to what is essentially a pretty snappy pop-punk album. If I’d heard Hey Friend even a year ago, I might have been a little more open to it, but in a scene flooded with albums that sound like they were recorded under a freeway overpass, I’m not sure Pens qualify as a “must-hear” band. It’s a fun album, but one that proves that bubblegum is still just bubblegum, even if there’s a wad of hair stuck to it.
1. Horsies
2. I Sing Just for You
3. 1-2
4. High in the Cinema
5. Networking
6. Fukufuckinfuk
7. I Heart You
8. Crybaby
9. Freddie
10. Yeah Baby! I’ll Take You to Bagel Town
11. Hide the Kids
12. Sally Ain’t Nobody
13. Hate Your Calendar
14. Know Bout Me
More about: Pens
