If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Kristen Barnett Be Your Own Pet might have been the first band I felt I was too old to listen to but still loved when they first came out way back in 2006. I hid behind Thurston Moore and Iggy Pop being fans. They stopped recording music together after 2008's Get Awkward , and aside from a Jemina Pearl solo album in 2009 and her band Ultras S/C releasing an album in 2013, there hasn't been much from the Nashville punk band. But... now it's 2023, and Be Your Own Pet are back. They've played a handful of live dates, and now have a brand new song. "Hand Grenade" is great. It sounds exactly like what we want Be Your Own Pet to sound like in 2023. It's a little more mature and a little let out of control... but only a little. This song could have landed on any of their previous releases and fit in perfectly. Plus, it's the kind of song that only gets better and better with each listen. Maturity can kill any punk band's sound, especially a noise...

Last week Be Your Own Pet came up in conversation which made me realize I hadn't heard anything from Jemina Pearl since her solo album, Break It Up , back in 2009. After some intense research (ok, maybe 30 seconds of Googling) I discovered she has a new band, Ultras S/C. It looks like they have a couple of songs, but unfortunately they're both almost 2 years old at this point. The good news is, they rock unbelievably hard. As much as I liked Break It Up , Jemina's more recent output had been much softer than earlier Be Your Own Pet. Even "Becky," aside from the controversy over teenage violence, was more doo wop than noise rock. "1417 Roberts Ave" might be the most blisteringly intense song she's ever come out with. It's just the epitome of noise punk, with it's opening line of "I hate your fucking face," it just doesn't let up, with Stooges style guitar solos over pure noise. I can't seem to find any more music they mig...