On Be Your Own Pet's raucous sophomore album frontwoman Jemina Pearl's yells Karen O-style, “You were a chainsaw through my heart.” The comparison can still hold up two years later because Pearl definitely steers the album with her corrosively wanton lyricism. In fact, three songs were cut from the American release of Get Awkward for being too violent. The songs ('Blow Yr Mind', 'Black Hole', and 'Becky') traverse familiar territory for the Bible-belt punk quartet. The U.K. release retains all three songs’ threats of school violence and murder. The Thurston Moore-touted band may not sound like quite the “piss in the ear” kind of Stooges upstarts they fronted as on their self-titled debut, but within their new studio cocoon they scratch at the walls like mad delinquents. Many of the songs are a fair approximation of high schoolers jettisoned straight out of high school. Not too outlandish for a band’s whose frontwoman actually dropped out.Pearl sings about the gauche transition from her 'Super Soaked' teenaged days during the first track’s angular garage rock barrage: “Just 19 when I lost all my dignity! / Today's my birthday, and now I'm 20 / Don't wanna have responsibility! / Don't wanna be a part of society!”. Angst is definitely in check on this and the squiggling late-night self-destruction-cum-pizza eating chant of 'Black Hole'. In a strange turn of events the band actually perform some slower songs (something they noted in interview s they were leery of doing on their first outing). They band bounces around like they drank too much Red Bull on 'Blow Your Mind'. Not bad for a group full of asthmatics. 'The Kelly Affair' (the band’s first single) stands as Be Your Own Pet’s quintessential yarn. This story of a hot young band traveling to drug-addled Southern California has Pearl singing, “this could be dangerous”. She takes it in stride and maybe even likes the peril. It’s pretty outlandish for the daughter of a Christian artist but nothing is new under the sun in the music industry.On the unrequited romance Molotov cocktail that is 'Heart Throb' Pearl sings about “thinking way too hard” before her band descending into one of the band’s best song on the album ”“ the classic girl-group colored 'Becky'. The distortion-filled soundtrack ups the intro’s girl-group sheen by chalking up after-class knife fights -something that got Universal’s U.S. lawyers sweating buckets. Pearl lords over the often-silly lyrics with a chainsaw diction and growling calamity, “Give me back all the clothes you borrowed / Don't give me bullshit, bring them to school tomorrow".'Bitches Leave' continues the femme fatalism with a Pearl trash talking a girl that claims she likes to “take it in the rear”. It’s a piercing highlight on an album that leaves many teeth marks. Her performance on both songs create the kind of emotional levity that keeps a brisk 35 minute album from just being a caffeinated screwdriver to the central cortex. Her band crams enough garage punk enthusiasm into the hole Pearl’s lyrical acid opens.  The four-piece seem tighter as a punky garage unit during great love-sick songs like, 'You’re a Waste' and 'Twisted Nerve'. Both see Pearl exorcising her relationship demons over skydiving glam guitar and bouncy hi-hats. Songs about being lazy watching TV ('Bummer Time'), food fights ('Food Fight'), and Pets’ personal favorite, zombie songs ('Zombie Graveyard Party'), are quirky but mostly unremarkable. With the exception of 'Food Fight' and its hilarious chorus they seem to be dead weights on a rather quick album.Get Awkward rarely traverses sedation, instead opting for a spiky playground for the band to be young and let loose. That just happens to run contrary to many of the usual punk aesthetics. I know. It’s so awkward, but most importantly so very punk. 76%Links Be Your Own Pet [official site] [myspace]