This Long Island trio of DJ's have already been dubbed the 'female Beastie Boys', which seems as sure a way as any to give a fledgling career the kiss of death. Still, if the chirpy young ladies' debut album doesn't quite reach those giddy heights, it's still an entertaining mixture of political commentary, middle-class feminism and feelgood hip-hop. Guinea Love, DJ Sprout and Hesta Prynn may be in their early twenties, but they can certainly rap like old pros and seem to be equally comfortable concocting ryhmes about Dolly Parton as they are George Bush (who, it's safe to say, is not a big hero of theirs). Over the course of these eight tracks they also namecheck Chekhov, Johnny Cash and Nigella Lawson, presumably just to prove the breadth of their cultural knowledge. It's crude, rude and, truth be told, often very silly. But at least Northern State don't take themselves too seriously - and their tongue-in-cheek attitude makes Dying in Stereo a reasonably entertaining listen.
