Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward

Get Awkward (2008, XL Recordings) Be Your Own Pet's second studio album. ****

I’d be lying if I said I was a fan of punk rock. The entire genre, apart from the classics (i.e. the Ramones), tends to turn me off. The reason is because punk rock helped give rise to the worst thing to ever happen to music: Nirvana. But I have to say that Be Your Own Pet has certainly churned out a fine album. The thunderous opener, “Supersoaked,” is probably the most appropriate title that could have been given to this track, which features a galloping guitar crunch. The tunes are smooth (in quality, not the sound) all the way to “Bitches Leave,” a song worthy of the 70’s greats. After that it’s a mixed bag of ridiculously immature songs (Food Fight) that make you wonder who the target audience is. There’s no doubt that Be Your Own Pet took lessons from their predecessors, because they don’t take themselves seriously. Not since “Beat on the Brat” have their been such mindless lyrics, and that’s what makes Get Awkward so enjoyable. Even for, say, the punk-rock hating a-hole. (Supersoaked, The Kelly Affair, Bitches Leave)