Dying in Stereo
Dying in Stereo is the second release by New York City-based alternative hip hop group Northern State. It was first released on June 3, 2002 on Startime International, and then re-released in May 2003 by Columbia Records.[1] It has been described variously as an EP and a "mini-album". Nevertheless, it is usually described as their official debut album, since their only previous release (Hip Hop You Haven't Heard) was a self-released four-song demo. This led PopMatters to describe it as a "litmus test" that will determine "what will happen to white, female, feminist rappers, who aren’t pencil-thin or supermodel pretty."[2]
| Dying in Stereo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 3, 2002 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop music | |||
| Length | 32:37 | |||
| Label | Startime International Columbia  | |||
| Northern State chronology | ||||
  | ||||
Reception
    
The album received generally favorable reviews from critics.[3] The exceptions to this trend included Pitchfork Media, which gave it a scathing review in which the reviewer, Michael Idov, described the album as "the most heinous hip-hop release since MC Skat Kat went solo",[4] and Drowned in Sound, which described Northern State as "a pointless hybrid of the Beastie Boys and *N-tyce (from the female wing of the Wu)."[5] Many other critics also compared Dying in Stereo's music to that of the Beastie Boys.[6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating | 
| Metacritic | 77/100[3] | 
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating | 
| Allmusic | |
| Drowned in Sound | 1/10[5] | 
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[8] | 
| NME | 6/10[9] | 
| Pitchfork Media | 0.8/10[4] | 
| PopMatters | (mixed)[2] | 
| Robert Christgau | A[10] | 
| Rolling Stone | |
| Spin | B[6] | 
Track listing
    
| No. | Title | Length | 
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Thousand Words" | 3:37 | 
| 2. | "Trinity" | 4:11 | 
| 3. | "At the Party" | 3:42 | 
| 4. | "The Man's Dollar" | 3:28 | 
| 5. | "Vicious Cycle" | 4:39 | 
| 6. | "Signal Flow (You Can't Fade Me)" | 4:07 | 
| 7. | "All the Same" | 4:05 | 
| 8. | "Dying in Stereo" | 4:47 | 
References
    
- "Columbia Records Set to Release All City, Eagerly-Awaited New Album From Northern State" (Press release). Sony Corporation. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
 - Powers, Devon (30 June 2003). "Dying in Stereo Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - Dying in Stereo, Metacritic
 - Idov, Michael (2003) "Northern State Dying in Stereo", Pitchfork Media, July 17, 2003
 - McKeating, Scott (13 April 2003). "Dying in Stereo". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - Reilly, Phoebe (15 July 2003). "Northern State Start the Party". Spin. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - Wilson, MacKenzie. "Dying in Stereo". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - Hermes, Will (6 June 2003). "Dying In Stereo (2003)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - Carhart-Harris (2 June 2003). "Dying in Stereo". NME. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - "CG: Northern State". Retrieved 29 May 2014.
 - Hoard, Christian (June 12, 2003). "Northern State, Dying in Stereo". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on May 24, 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
 
