Customer Reviews

Be Your Own Pet (Dig)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just saw these guys live at Lollapalooza and they were awesome, especially the vocalist. She sang, shook, danced, bounced, screamed and ended up on the floor in a fit. It was great to see a band play with that much energy. It reminded me of early punk, can't play their instruments really well but they put everything they've got into it.

So I went out and got the album, which isn't quite the same, but it's still really great. I'd basically classify it as garage-punk, but the album is kind of its own thing.

The only problem is that they are still very young, and therefore a bit childish both lyrically and in overall presence. But if they mature a little and keep their energy, they will really be one amazing band.

This is refreshing. I't like stepping outside, except there are no factories, cars, people, houses, tall buildings, nothing. Just air. This is great. I read an ad in Best Buy for this cd and i checked out some previews of their songs. Wow, i was left speachless. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the Karen-O sound alike (I love the yeah yeah yeahs), but this is great. She doesn't sound too much like Karen O to where if you don't like that you'd hate this. This is great, WAAAY up beat and high energy music. A lot of people in the music industry seem to have no energy or feeling. These kids have tons of energy and feelings for what they do. It's great to hear and will fill you with energy as well.

This very young band (they're like, teenagers ohmigawd) from Nashville, TE have created probably the most energetic album you'll hear all year, even if the only other you hear all year is the 1st Ramones album. The slow songs here are all fast, and even the quiet ones are noisy. Listening is like downing a strychnine-laced case of Jolt Cola in just over a half-hour, with lead evil-cheerleader Jemina Pearl coming on like Karen O's younger sister vying for even more attention (as in deficit disorder, I mean). It should also be noted that they've been given the support of Sonic Youth (the hipster Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval), touring with them and putting the album on their Ecstatic Peace label. Even better, Be Your Own Pet don't skimp on melody, either, with most every track here being a head bobbing singalong--really, this is almost a pop-punk, um, Nirvana of a record, but...

...I don't think the good times can last. If BYOP are in it for the long haul, they're going to have to alter their sound. Ladling out more of the same time after time, no matter how fun it seems, can lead to boredom, as the Ramones themselves learned. After a rip-snorting debut, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs put out a finely-crafted and solid follow-up ("Show Your Bones"), but of course they sacrificed their urgency. I can't help to notice that the road BYOP are on leads straight to Suck City. As thrilling as this debut is, it's also a shallow pool--great for some immediate fun, but what else can they do? They're going to have teach their Own Pet some new tricks if they want to keep people's attention.

This particular album, though, is still a helluva ride. With tossed-off song titles like "Bunk Trunk Skunk," "Fill My Pill" and of course, "Fuuuuuun," this is a great party for sociopaths. Jemina Pearl can curse like a sailor while still sounding the punk rock girl next door. They even have a piss-take of a song called "Stairway To Heaven" that'll have Page 'n' Plant grabbing their geritol and diving for cover. Needless to say, it's an original.

Like all parties, though, it has to end, usually sooner than later. Like a joyride down a one-way street, it's thrills galore--just watch out for that dead end...

I've heard a lot about BYOP, but never bothered to follow up and actually listen. As I get older, I find myself more and more jaded by new bands, so I stick to the tried and the true. I did try and give some hyped bands a chance recently, and was utterly disappointed by them all - Black Lips, Wavves, The Oh Sees, No Age....all of it was, well, boring. I was expecting the same from BYOP, but I was quickly proven wrong. This is high energy stuff, completely catchy, not overpolished, not gimmicky, just great, great stuff. Female vocals that aren't cutesy, but aren't trying to prove a point. Excellent lyrics. The complete package. I can't believe I slept on this band for so long.

These guys were the opening act for the Arctic Monkeys back in May and I was all "WTF?!" when they came on stage but by the fourth song I was madly in love with them. They have such eneregy, on stage and on this record that it's ridiculous. The songs are short but hilarious and every single track is fantastic. So yeah, five stars, BYOP rule.

This generation's version of Bikini Kill... withouth the aim. Simply furiously clever, twisted and torqued.

Be Your Own Pet will come to your town burn your house down, turn the sky brown, all because- all because, their on two wheels baby.

I love this album...and to address all the Jemina/Karen comments, I would say that I found Ms.Pearls vocals more derivitive of X-Ray Spex.

be your own pet takes no prisoners.

Be Your Own Pet is a wonderfully raucous band from the bowels of the South. Apparently, some sour emos aren't too happy with the fact that they viciously insulted some very "talented" bands (who, in my opinion, deserved it). I must say, however, that despite the fact that Be Your Own Pet may sound "talentless" to some, I disagree. Be Your Own Pet, unfortunately for those who may have recently attended Warp Tour '06, does not sound like every other popular band in music today. Be Your Own Pet takes good old fashioned punk and amps it up with a few drops of teenage angst and some nice little riffs and shouts. Yes, their sound may not be a perfectly produced and polished one, but therein lies the fun, and that's what this band is all about: fun. Their lyrics, although good, are not rich and poetic. Bright Eyes this is not. The lyrics are fun and will click instantly with any (well, almost any) teenager, or most music fans in general who have a sense of fun and enjoy a little music which screams, literally, "F**k s**t up!"

The bottom line is this: this is not a band which you and your friends can play while you cry, cut yourselves and discuss how horrible and pointless life is. This is a band for those of us who love music, punk, life, being a teenager, and perhaps the stray party here and there. This is a band for today. This is the band that will chase away the screamo sissy pansies and clear the way for more real music to arrive.

(2 & 1/2 stars) After reading of Thurston Moore's interest in this band, I thought I'd check 'em out. Once I listened to the CD, though, I was very underwhelmed. I can see where Moore would like the BYOP sound - nearly all gleeful and unrestrained bashing. They remind me a little of X, and the singer even sounds a bit like early Patti Smith at her most demonstrative. The big difference between BYOP and their elders, however, is that those other people (X and Smith) played some actual melodies and tunes. BYOP merely seems to plow their way through every song. The lead vocalist doesn't SING very often; mostly she just shouts or sometimes speaks the lyrics. The lack of distinguishable melodies is a big problem. I can admire their youthful energy and enthusiasm, but it doesn't make me want to hear the music again. On those few occasions when she actually does SING - as on "Adventure" and "October, First Account" - the results are pretty unimpressive. I kind of like the forceful "We Will Vacation," with its cool guitar flourishes, but that's an oasis in a desert of mind-numbing slams.

I normally don't review albums on Amazon; however, I felt inspired to write something when I saw the vitriolic and ridiculous comments being made by some of the other reviewers. First of all, AFI are terrible--sorry to hear that Davey what's-his-name is the object of your malaiase-imbued, black-eyeliner-wearing "emo" (whatever THAT means; ask Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto what they think of the term) affection.

BYOP were better than all those Warped Tour bands for a number of reasons: (1) Jemina's lyrics are immature in a GOOD way--punk rock is all about high school angst and frustration; (2) their raw, unbridled sound could be straight out of '77; (3) and Jemina has an amazing set of pipes, complete with rock 'n' roll snarl. Pay attention--the lyrics are supposed to be childish, and the playing is supposed to be sloppy!

If you hate BYOP's retro sound, you'll probably also hate most of the bands that inspired them. These kids listened to all the right stuff: the Stooges, Richard Hell, Bad Brains, Ramones, NY Dolls, Sex Pistols, etc. Listen to the Buzzcocks' earliest recordings (e.g. Spiral Scratch); Howard Devoto has a terrible singing voice, but he's an AMAZING singer (Magazine are even better than the Pete Shelley-fronted Buzzcocks). Also, Shelley's guitar sound on their earliest recordings is unrefined and BRILLIANT for that very reason.

At any rate, if you like real punk, hardcore, glam, and hard rock from the '70s and '80s, you'll probably like BYOP. If you love the Distillers and Gwen Stefani's solo work, you should probably not be reviewing this album. You should also probably be embarrassed for bringing shame upon yourself and your ancestors.