Kidz are so gr8, aren’t they? With their cheezy Wotsits and their totally rad tunes and their grazed knees and their making out with hot guys and... oh shut the fuck up yeah?
Nashville foursome Be Your Own PET first surfed into view three years ago, riding a frankly inexplicable wave of goodwill possibly prompted by Thurston Moore’s decision to release their self-titled debut through his Ecstatic Peace label.
Now they’re back, back, back (repetition absolutely necessary) with a second dose of barely-pubesced raucousness and, a mere two spins down the line, DiS is seriously reconsidering the prospect of having children, like, ever.
In fairness, at least BYOP have the courage to call adolescence out for the clueless fumble it really is, rather than attempt to channel it into lofty pretension or gormless angst. But equally this makes for an experience largely devoid of danger or genuine thrills.
Oh sure, they say ‘fuck’ a bit and they talk about popping pills but really Get Awkward hasn’t the foggiest what to do with its hard-on, preferring instead to launch zestily into pillow fights and pizza parties with giddy abandon; a record that doesn’t so much have spunk as buckets and buckets of gunge; the kind TV’s Dave Benson-Phillips used to splash liberally over childrens’ heads in antic fashion.
Equally, the band channel some terrific influences – The Stooges on ‘ Black Hole’, The Ramones on ‘Heart Throb’ – but couple them with a yammering insistence that’ll drain the will to live right outta you.
Highlights? Well ‘You’re A Waste’ sounds, improbably enough, like The Cardigans. And ‘Super Soaked’ is admittedly an excellent opener; a spastic tantrum that resembles Enon spitting the dummy out the pram.
Weirdly, Jemina Pearl’s lyrics provide an eloquent meta-critique of the record’s tail-chasing absurdity, spitting lines like "eating pizza is really great / so is destroying everything that you hate" or, hilariously, "stuff is going everywhere / I’m doing stuff but I don’t care" with eerie prescience.
So where do Be Your Own PET go from here? Personally I’d like to see them regress with every album, getting increasingly shrill and annoying ‘til round about album six, when they’ll start screeching about hanging out in their moms’ wombs, toking on the umbilical cord and kicking out a few gnarly beats on the amniotic lining. Then I might consider paying the entrance fee.
I'd go with this
over pitchforks rating of 7.8!
sometimes
you gotta put it all into perspective--it's more important what a band represents than what they actually sound like---byop are unapologetically loud and provide heavy kindergarten punk, which i find really honest, really funny, and really refreshing. giving it a 5 is a bit shallow
..
Wouldn't you say giving the music a rating any higher than it deserves, simply because of the bands image/(what they "represent") is what's shallow?
(constructive argument, just want to understand your point of view)
sure
define "deserve." how on earth can an inanimate object like an album "deserve" something or other? despite whether or not byop sounds like a pile of rubbish to people, it's important that they offer an snarling alternative to the scene
But
there are other bands offering snarling alternatives and yet delivering music more accomplished.
I take your point to an extent
They are clearly a bit of a theatrical emsemble as opposed to a group of forward-thinking musicians.
My beef would be more general than this though. When you compare the new BYOP album to what some bands are producing over this side of the pond for a second album, it is highlighted as being very weak indeed. Ok, there's a couple of high points on this album, but i think that is because they represent better than average when taking the whole album into consideration.
Mirror this second album to, let's say the Mystery Jets follow-up where the timeline between first and second album is about the same. The difference in approach to consideration of quality and the writing overall is remarkable. It's very hard to pay mind to bands like BYOP these days. A second album simply highlights the nagging thoughts that they are truly style over substance- means rather than ends. 4/10
..
"When you compare the new BYOP album to what some bands are producing over this side of the pond for a second album, it is highlighted as being very weak indeed."
Examples?
..
(apart from Mystery Jets)
Ok
Hot Chip, Field Music, Envelopes, The Cribs....off the top of my head, i'd say these follow-ups probably eclipse their debuts. Just my opinion like.
Good examples
..I think stylistically BYOP limited themselves from day one.
not sure
that even the MJ example stands up - they are about 5 years older... yeah i KNOW BYOP were playing when they were in prams etc etc etc but some skills you only pick up with age...
..like writing wordy pretentious posts such as this very oneth
or
the ability to drink legally
All these comparison bands
are bands that are trying to write proper songs. They're bands that consider things like "quality" and "song-writing". BYOP, on the other hand, are just trying to have as much fun as possible. Proper music is for other people. They're the equivalent of the old "learn three chords, play punk" thing.
That's what I think. I haven't heard this, but I assume it's exactly the same as their first album. Which I really enjoyed.
I followed the blurb prior to this release
on the usual sites regarding this record. They even say things like 'we took our time to get things right' and 'we've grown up a bit and the new songs reflect that'. Do they fuck! Listen, I like a shambling thrashy racket like the next man, but to me, this has been sold with the pretense that it is a step-forward for the band. I fail to see how and would feel cheated if i bought it based on that hyperbole.
WORD
I totally agree with you. BAM
I meant
that i agree with danger's comment
they were
absolutely dreadful at SXSW last week at emo's - really bad.
i like the album a lot though - zombie graveyard party and becky are 'fun' it does get a bit to samey after a while though. if they get to album 3 - be interesting to see what they do - surely they have to try progressing at some point.
I really like what I've heard from this album so far
Jemina's voice, especially. You're WRONG.
uhmm
"BYOP, on the other hand, are just trying to have as much fun as possible"
I appreciate it, but I'd go to the club, if I want to have fun. This band certainly looks funny but their music is anything but remarkable.
each to their own
this is my favourite album so far this year.
I agree
I prefer this to their debut.
Poor review
I usually like DiS reviews but this one is really lazy and what somebody who maybe does not know much about the band might write. They play simple and energetic punk music which is a real punch in the face. It feels as if Alex Denney was expecting some sort of new musical direction when really you expect the opposite of them, of which I am glad for. Keep ploughing out these beasts BYOP!
I AGREE
nice one binstig
they're fun
thats all that matters
i think this review is missing the point a bit
it's like reviewing a kebab. It's always a bad idea in the morning, but you wanted it at the time and it tasted GREAT. Life has things like this all over the place, including music and Be Your Own Pet.
Maybe you don't eat kebabs.
Hmmm
I've listened to this album quite alot over the last few weeks and I'm not sure if I love it, or just find it a tad one note. I mean, it's a snotty, trashy, very teeange (or rather an appropriation of teenage) record that's really good fun to listen to. But on the other hand, is that enough? Should bands try and push themselves a little more?
most bands should
but not Be Your Own Pet. they're trashy, loud and fun and that's exactly what i want from them. obviously there are times that I want more challenging music and interesting directions but Be Your Own Pet have their own special qualities and do what they do very well indeed. and any 'serious' review of an album like this is pretty much beyond belief. the best songs aptly sum up exactly how it feels to be in your late teens, and the other songs are just pure fun.
^this
i dont go to be your own pet for challenging music... if i put their album on or buy it its purely to listen to something snotty, loud but ultimately poppy and fun. this album is just that.
Yep
we agree on something. How odd.
It's not that great
but it's still pretty damn fun, a 5 seems a bit harsh. Someone's taking themselves a bit too seriously.
Bollox
So basically BYOP are critic-proof because they make songs that sound like they were made by 12-year olds? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
dont agree with review
5/10 is not an accurate score, i would give it a least a 7, because it dose what it sets out to achieve, making loud, bratish music that is fun to listen to, and what is wrong with a band who want to inject a bit of fun in a genre that all too often takes itself far to seriously.
Exactly why I stopped reading music reviews
"Journalism" like this is EXACTLY why I stopped reading the music press. Alex Denney, you're a very important person to me because your bit of "work" will be the last ever review I read.
Bloody hell, you pain yourself over being a pretentious as possible, trying to draw in conclusions that are not there. You write like a university fresher studying English Liturature.
BYOP are not great musicians, but who cares, they ARE great band. I listen to this album and it makes me smile, I went to see BYOP the other night and had a lot of fucking fun.
I DON'T CARE whether a snob like you thinks about any music, I can decide for myself. Music's personal preference whether you give it a 1 a 5 or a 10.
Enjoy your music, not decide what's cool or what's "important".