Be Your Own Pet "Get Awkward"

Yes, Virginia, rebel-yell punk rock can have damn good hooks. And don't tell me limp-dick bands like Good Charlotte and Simple Plan already proved that because you'll be severely lacking in proof that a) either was punk rock or b) anything they ever did was memorable. Fortunately, Be Your Own Pet come a lot closer to outsider credibility than either of those bands ever will, thanks to the blessing of avowed rock deity Thurston Moore, whose Ecstatic Peace label issued both Pet's self-titled debut and their kicking new LP, "Get Awkward".

Things jump start with Super Soaked, its toy-inspired title as indicative of the track's fun level as it is of the band's own child-like energy and enthusiasm. There's a lot of loud, raw instrumentation and yelling and yet through it all, you want to sing along as much as you're dancing. And amazingly, this spirit of buzz-inducing ra-ra bopping never fades; in fact, one full listen in a single sitting (yeah right, as if you'll be able to stay still while this record is playing) could leave one totally reeling.

However, the production is unobtrusive enough to reassure you that you are, in fact, listening to a rock record. Singer Jemina Pearl's shrieking is never fine-tuned or flat-ironed for the sake of being inoffensive (of course, no amount of vocal tinkering could take the awesome piss out of lines like "I know you're lying, that you take it in the rear"). As well, the band sounds viciously alive. The bass and guitars are bone-crunchingly satisfying and the drums are sporadic and sprightly enough to remind you, "oh yeah, there was a time when people laid down tracks without drum machines."

If I had any complaints, it would be that the songs seem to cycle through the same subjects over and over again. Pearl proclaims on at least two songs that she wants to break hearts like hers has been broken and on a few others that she really just wants to stay out all night. But I suppose that's just par for the course with actual (modern) punk music. However, it's a bit of a shame, as this flaw slightly detracts from the fact that most of "Awkward" is actually made up of very sharp, witty and lovably bratty lyrics.

For curious Top 40 fans, if you want Paramore without the pop overtures or Flyleaf without the Christ worship, I'd definitely recommend taking Be Your Own Pet for a test drive. The hard sound might scare you at first but, don't worry, soon enough they'll be destroying your car speakers with repeated spins.

On a final note, I played this CD first thing in the morning today and it jolted me so far awake I have yet to slow down...even after a mere four hours of sleep last night. So what does that mean? "Get Awkward" might just be the healthy alternative to shitty energy drinks which shall not be named. ...Or that I'm getting by on fumes. Fumes of awesomeness.
A-

Download: Food Fight, Super Soaked, Twisted Nerve, Bitches Leave

Avoid: Well, nothing...but the slower You're A Waste kind of interrupts the momentum of the thing.