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Get Awkward
by Be Your Own Pet


7.5

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 12 votes
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Be Your Own Pet

Official Artist Site

The sophomore album for the rock quartet from Nashville, Tennessee.

LABEL:	Ecstatic Peace
RELEASE DATE:	18 March 2008
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Rock

NOTES: US version had three songs removed as they were deemed too violent.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Lost At Sea

Even with song subjects nicked from movies, the only false thing here is the title: Get Awkward my ass. It's extremely difficult to imagine these hyperdrive darlings as anything but fully adept.

Delusions of Adequacy

Get Awkward is mostly more of the same but with more hooks, more wit, and a hell of a lot more emotion.

Rolling Stone

BYOP remain blissfully bored by the idea of lyrical or musical subtlety, which is why they're so perfect.

New Musical Express

Get Awkward is relentless, riotous and raw.

Mojo

A second album every bit as upbeat, funny and furious as their eponymous 2006 debut. [Apr 2008, p.105]

musicOMH.com

They've managed to inject 15 punk songs with youthful energy and just enough variety to keep things interesting, crafting a goofy, yet determined record.

Village Voice

Thankfully, if anything differentiates the terrific Get Awkward from its hardly inauspicious predecessor, it's that this one may be even less complicated. Whereas the debut made room for actual relationships and a couple of headlong jams, this is a tighter, blunter assault, affording Pearl only just enough room to summarize B-movie plots or super-soak society.

Paste Magazine

While the band is ferocious and tight, Pearl in particular has attained force-of-nature caliber formidability, not just in the burgeoning mastery of her commanding rapid-fire squeal, but in her frankly sexual gaze and world-devouring disdain for all things not awesome.

Pitchfork

The guitar work here is still ten times rangier and more inventive than you'd expect, but it takes a few very professional steps back, nailing down its snappy flourishes amid ecstatic "whoo!"s, new-wave poses, and occasional clouds of glitter and confetti.

Los Angeles Times

[Jemina Pearl's] shrieking self-reliance rings powerful as ever on the Nashville garage-punk quartet's sophomore album.

Prefix Magazine

But no matter, because the tracks that Universal has okayed are the kind of ballsy primal rock that conjures up images of a glorious multicolor three-way between Bikini Kill, the Ramones, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

cokemachineglow

This means that even though Get Awkward starts at a frenetic pace and pretty much keeps slapping you about the face for the next half hour--there’s hardly a song that goes above 2-minutes-30--it doesn’t feel like an assault.

Filter

So even though the songs have great live potential and are manufactured with poppy punk precision, the end product doesn't quite fit the equation. [Winter 2008, p.95]

All Music Guide

Still, the best songs have more than enough energy and creativity to prevent this album from being an Awkward sophomore slump.

Tiny Mix Tapes

Let it also be said that Jemima Pearl’s voice has improved in a myriad of ways; throughout Be Awkward, she wails, rally-cries, and (especially on 'Becky') croons with a range of emotions that were bereft in previous recordings. If there’s one thing Be Awkward has in common with BYOP’s first effort, it’s the fact that it runs a bit long.

Dusted Magazine

There's plenty of kicks left over, but it tilts the impression of the band. The Teen Beat questionnaires that come in the disc jacket (What's your favorite color? What's your shoe size?) and the shortened tracklist end up emphasizing the nerdiness over the jerkiness.

The Phoenix

What BYOP now lack is the element of surprise that made their debut such a kick; they no longer sound as if they had something to prove, and that drains their music of much of its charm.

Alternative Press

There is a breadth of influence throughout, even if the energy level rarely falls below absurdly scorching and the sonic approach remains a fuzzy haze. [Apr 2008, p.150]

PopMatters

By riding high on punchy impulses, Get Awkward ends up being a solid follow-up even if it doesn’t sound as instantly re-playable as the band’s charismatic first LP.

Sputnikmusic

Get Awkward, as an album, is a step up, and it certainly has highs and lows, but what I’m really missing here are things like "Bicycle Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle" or even “October, First Account,” songs that really stick out.

Urb

Get Awkward showcases a sound reliant on the push and pull between a band whose middle ground is fun.

Q Magazine

Singer and girl-Iggy Jemina Pearl's the star, bringing admirable conviction to her tales of boredom, drug-taking and, in the case of the Perky 'Food Fight,' "extra cheese in your face." [Apr 2008, p.102]

Uncut

Jemina Pearl's voice is compelling, ensuring Be Your Own Pet sound like a candy-coloured, pocket-sized Yeah Yeah Yeahs. [may 2008, p.87]

Drowned In Sound

Now they’re back, back, back (repetition absolutely necessary) with a second dose of barely-pubesced raucousness and, a mere two spins down the line, DiS is seriously reconsidering the prospect of having children, like, ever.

Spin

Get Awkward's forced rhymes and attitude sound almost calculated. [Apr 2008, p.92]

Austin Chronicle

By mid-disc, 'Bitches Leave' and 'Bummer Time' have turned lukewarm-bratty, as the remainder of the album stumbles between self-destruction, self-reflection, and breaking shit, and not in a real cohesive way.

Under The Radar

Unfortunately, creativity is nonexistent on Get Awkward. [Spring 2008, p.82]

The average user rating for this album is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Guy H. gave it an8:
Another hilarious album from the best comedy band around. Of course some folks just don't get the joke. Unfortunately - some of these folk work in the industry with their fingers poised over the nucleur button - and guess what - they've tried to wipe three of these tunes off the face of the planet. Why the fuss? Well because the lovely Jemima jokes about killing out of boredom (when the pizza has run out!) and knifing your best friend as an act of petty revenge cos she has started acting 'lame'. I mean, really - talk about a humour bypass! Living in the UK I purchased the international release and can listen to the classics 'Becky' and 'Black Hole' in all their glory. Better production than the debut but fear not - their music remains a laugh a minute hurricane of punk rock goodness. Just make sure you get the FULL VERSION.

Jim A. gave it an8:
This is actually a pretty strong sophomore album from these kids. The guitar work and vocals are improved somewhat, making them a more mature and talented band. I like to think of them as a more pop-oriented Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or maybe a smarter college-age Paramore. Oh, and Universal needlessly censored the US release, which is a pretty big deal since the three tracks they removed were actually among the best on the disc. Order the import if that's possible.

Alex gave it a0:
Get Awkward is overall a pretty fun record, although not as exciting as their earlier material. However, three songs mentioned in many of the reviews above are not on the American version, "Black Hole," "Becky" and "Blow Yr Mind." This seems a little strange, since "Black Hole" was released as a single and "Becky" has been the most talked about song on the album. Since it was clearly not because the album needed to be cut down (only 35 minutes), there is only one possible answer: UNIVERSAL CENSORED THE ALBUM. "Black Hole" and "Becky" both contain references to killing, which likely did not go over well with the major label distributor. The UK version has all of the tracks...hunt that down if you want the songs talked about in the reviews or just download them to spite Universal!

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Get Awkward by Be Your Own Pet

Get Awkward
by Be Your Own Pet