The Best Albums Of 2008 #12

Be Your Own Pet-Get Awkward

Another album of the year, and it’s another one by a band that broke up in 2008. In just a few years, Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet drew the attention of Thurston Moore, pissed off their record label, and released a pair of punk pop albums that were rife with catchy hooks teenaged enthusiasm. The reasons behind the band’s breakup remain clandestine, but the albums they left behind are crystal clear. They’re Blondie meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs with a touch of the horror comedy of The Misfits (What, you take them seriously?).

Be Your Own Pet was signed to Universal in the United States, and the label saw fit to remove three tracks from Get Awkward for being too violent. They were eventually released on the Get Damaged EP. But look for the UK print of Get Awkward to get the full experience. Songs like “Becky” and “Blow Yr Mind” make Get Awkward fast, angry, and tough, just the way a good punk album should be. Maybe Universal wanted a top-selling pop band when they signed Be Your Own Pet, but they got something far more interesting instead.

“Becky”