Be Your Own Pet- Mommy (2023)

Be Your Own Pet- Mommy (2023)

This is one of those bands that I didn’t pay much attention to for a long time. It was with this album in particular that I really got to grips with them. Although it’s easy enough to classify them as Pop/Rock, they’re actually a formidable American Punk/Garage Rock band!

Mommy is the first album recorded by the band in nearly fifteen years, following the release of their second studio album, Get Awkward, and their split in 2008.

After a fourteen-year hiatus, Be Your Own Pet reunited in 2021 after lead singer Jemina Pearl and guitarist Jonas Stein were persuaded by Pearl’s husband and Third Man Records co-owner Ben Swank to reconnect with each other on a personal level after many years of no communication since the band’s tumultuous split in 2008. Swank also expressed the idea of reissuing the band’s first two albums, 2006‘s self-titled and 2008’s Get Awkward via Third Man Records as part of a retrospective series for the label. The idea prompted Pearl to contact the remaining members, bassist Nathan Vasquez and drummer John Eatherly about a reunion, which was agreed on condition that new music was created.

All the members of the group are involved in the production. Jemina sings and the others do the backing vocals. I’ve listened to this album countless times. And I know I’ll listen to it again. It’s great for those who like this kind of music. It’s a great way to wake up and relax after a hard day. It gives you a boost and can be listened to by those who need motivational music during sports like jogging.

But if you’re a fan of beautiful melodies and gentle vocals, or if you think rock’n’roll is already very aggressive, you’ll have to pass! You’ve got to have a minimum appreciation of snarl, dissonance and punk rock to fully appreciate this band.

Personally, I’ve also played in a few bands, but they’ve never made a name for themselves. I remember there was a time when I was trying to create a band like that, but a lot of people told me they didn’t want to play in a ‘teenage’ band any more. They wanted lyrics that were more thoughtful, more refined. Yet the messages are clear, precise and unadorned in this kind of band. Why not keep it simple? It’s so good! Why do we always want to take things so far? Be Your Own Pet proves these pseudo-intellectuals wrong. Not that what they want to do is uninteresting! It’s rather the fact that they denigrate this kind of band/music that’s a shame, even dramatic. After all… if something really makes you happy, it can’t be that bad!!!

So, I don’t know what the hits on this album are, because I listened to it from start to finish, sometimes on repeat. I love discovering a record, not knowing what tracks have been created to get the crowd going. I don’t even know if the singer plays with her sexy looks in the videos to get an audience. You’d think so when you see her in her latex outfit on the cover. One thing’s for sure: I guarantee that, if that’s the case, it’s by no means the band’s only interest or strength!

It’s not yet high on my list of priorities, but I’ll certainly give their first two albums a careful listen, with a touch of trepidation, because I like this one so much that I’m afraid I’m not open enough to their debut.

Usually, it’s the first albums that are the best… but there’s a good chance that Be Your Own Pet will be one of those that gets better and better with time.

In any case, their reunion was not in vain. I wonder if the original fans are disappointed or delighted! That’s something I’ll have to check out, but I haven’t done so yet, because it doesn’t seem that important to me. No, the main thing for me is the fact that I can add this album to my long list of the best of the early 2020s. And I can also add the band’s name to the list of bands that have touched me over the last 20 years.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s 35 minutes of pure bliss.
Happy listening!