It only took Be Your Own Pet a year and a half to follow up their debut album with Get Awkward, but during that time the band grew from teenagers to adults, and it shows in their music. Get Awkward is still plenty mischievous, but the mischief is more honed, with a wicked mean streak to boot. Instead of singing about bicycles, vacations, and adventures, Jemina Pearl and crew tackle subjects like boredom and paranoia on "Creepy Crawl" and self-loathing on "The Beast Within," but they sound pretty excited to be so jaded. The hyperactive venom of Be Your Own Pet's "Let's Get Sandy (Big Problem)" gets more focus on "Bitches Leave," a snotty, snarly punk rant which sounds a little like the Donnas on an especially pissed-off day. Fortunately, though, Get Awkward isn't too mature for its own good: "Heart Throb" captures the jubilant, stomach-aching power of a crush, as Pearl makes eyes at a guy she likes while her boyfriend is right beside her; "What's Your Damage" nails that obsessive state where love, hate, and pain are all the same thing. The band's vivid way with storytelling takes on a filmic flair with "The Kelly Affair," a clever update of Valley of the Dolls' go-go, pill-popping melodrama, and "Zombie Graveyard Party," where Pearl yells "Party in the graveyard tonight!" with all the gusto of a B-movie scream queen. Get Awkward's more structured songs shine the spotlight even more brightly on Pearl's vocal antics and lyrics, to the point that the other bandmembers feel like her henchmen as she rails against weak boys and jealous girls on "You're a Waste." Thrashy, repetitive tracks like "Twisted Nerve" and "Bummer Time" leave her and the rest of the band flailing without making much of an impact, and nothing has the weird, wild sweetness of Be Your Own Pet's "Adventure" or "Wildcat!" Still, the best songs have enough energy and creativity to keep the album from being an Awkward sophomore slump.
--- - |- I have somehow been immune to the charms of Be Your Own Pet, though I realize that I am in the minority there. So the recent news that they'd broken up hit me with the force of, say, finding out that the guy who reads your gas meter has retired. Still, they are no more, and some people are sad, so this (presumably) final video, for Get Awkward's "Becky", will have to serve as their a/...
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--- - |- Be Your Own Pet have broken up, and they are barely even saying goodbye. In a message on their website, BYOP say, "To all of our fans, we are sad to bring you the news that our upcoming shows in the UK are going to be our last as a band. We thank you for all your love and support these past few years. It's been a blast, but the time has come for the four of us to go our separate ways....
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--- - |- After four years, Nashville oiks Be Your Own PET have announced that they shall split after their forthcoming UK dates ~~- Be Your Own Pet
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I'm not a huge fan of these guys, but this video made me laugh the lyrics were so lame yet catchy. Seems frontwoman Jemina Pearl Abegg had a falling out with a BFF she exchanged friendship bracelets with named "Becky," also the name of the song. Crying at lunch, signing yearbooks and friendship bracelets? I wish this song was around when I was in the 7th grade.Hey, at least it's knives and not ...
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Sex...checkDrugs...checkRock N' Roll...checkPretty hard to mess up a punk rock song about the holy trilogy of debauchery...and BYOP get it totally right!
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Super Soaked |
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| 2 The Kelly Affair |
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| 3 Twisted Nerve |
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| 4 Heart Throb |
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| 5 Bitches Leave |
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| 6 Bummer Time |
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| 7 You're a Waste |
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| 8 Food Fight! |
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| 9 Zombie Graveyard Party! |
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| 10 What's Your Damage? |
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| 11 Creepy Crawl |
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| 12 The Beast Within |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Get Awkward")
