After a nearly 15-year hiatus, Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet returns with a revved-up slice of righteous, kink-promoting, rock and roll, titled Mommy.
The quartet of Jemina Pearl Abegg (vox), Jonas Stein (guitar), Nathan Vasquez (bass), and John Eatherly (drums) have returned during an era when nostalgia for their first go around in the ‘00’s indie scene is everywhere. The band doesn’t disappoint, using slashing guitars and Pearl Abegg’s charismatic vocals to deliver the goods.
“Worship The Whip” has a hard-driving, 70’s muscle car spirit, as the band steps back into the spotlight, opening the album confidently. While the punk rawness may be scaled back throughout the record, the group uses power-pop/new wave influences winningly such as on the Blondie-inspired “Drive” and “Erotomania” which pulls out screechy/digital guitar effects.
Shifting gears BYOP closed out their comeback record with a twist on girl group outings from the ‘50’s (with a cool guitar solo thrown in for good measure) on the sweet “Teenage Heaven”. The best efforts on Mommy are when Pearl Abegg’s lyrics get specific, such as on the excellent “Goodtime!” playing like a heavier Go-Go’s track, as becoming an adult, dealing with a fear of missing out, and realizing that rock and roll doesn’t end in your teens, all coalesce. The staunchly feminist lyrics of both the kick-ass Motorhead-sounding rumble “Never Again” and the revved up, siren-spiced, gut-wrenching guitars of “Big Trouble” are also monstrous high points as the band slam forward with a clear purpose.
Not as successful is the new wavey, bass-bouncing “Rubberist” that goes on too long and the mental health addressing “Bad Moon Rising” which chugs but never truly roars. That feeling of semi-restraint is also apparent in “Hand Grenade”, both tracks feel like they can be something bigger, more dangerous than they are. “Pleasure Seeker” is also a mixed effort, but ends up victorious, as the speaker slashing guitar riffs are intoxicating, then they are reigned in, for an admirably fitting band theme song, as the group puts their style into an arena rock, stomping anthem.
Having grown from teenagers to adults during their time away, there isn’t that vibrant, chaotic spark of their past records. In its place is a self-assured swaggering that fits Be Your Own Pet well as they successfully start the second chapter of their career with Mommy.
