On the heels of playing to packed rooms and enthusiastic audiences at SXSW, Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet have dropped a new single, “Hand Grenade,” via Third Man Records.
The song marks their first new music since the release of their Get Damaged EP (XL Recordings) in 2008 and was written and recorded by the three founding members Jemina Pearl Abegg (vox), Jonas Stein (guitar), Nathan Vasquez (bass), and longtime drummer John Eatherly. Picking up right where they left off and clocking in at just over 3 minutes, “Hand Grenade” is an exuberant return and leaves no question they are the same band that Pitchfork called “vibrantly charismatic” and Rolling Stone labeled “charmingly raw.”
“‘Hand Grenade’ started out as a threat to the people who harmed me, that I will make them suffer as I have suffered,” explains Jemina Pearl. “But the song grew like a mirror to my own grief process, through anger, denial, sorrow. In the end I gain my power back not through violence, but through self acceptance and rejection of the labels others might put on me. I define myself, no one else.”
In true DIY fashion, Be Your Own Pet shot a video for the song in Jemina’s basement using an iPhone. Listen to “Hand Grenade” here and watch the clip here:
Be Your Own Pet are confirmed to play this year’s Shaky Knees Festival on May 5 in Atlanta, GA. The following month they head to the UK and Europe for a string of dates including Primavera Sound. Tickets for all shows are on-sale now and all dates are listed below.
In 2005, Nashville’s Be Your Own Pet played their first SXSW. The buzz they generated at sixteen years old, along with the release of their debut single “Damn Damn Leash” quickly led to a record deal with Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label in the U.S. and XL Recordings in the UK. BYOP went on to release 2 albums – 2006’s self-titled debut and Get Awkward – to critical acclaim on both sides of the pond (including a Nylon Magazine cover) before they broke up in 2008.
Last year, BYOP reunited to play a handful of dates supporting Jack White. The shows led to their massive influence and legacy being discussed via features with Pitchfork, The Guardian, and more. It also rekindled the band’s creative passion and they soon found themselves in the studio.
* Watch this space for more music and news from Be Your Own Pet *
Past praise for Be Your Own Pet
“Be Your Own Pet is smart and crafty, but most of all, it's a wild-eyed blast.” The New York Times
“It's just one quick hit after another, a succession of aural whippets that last long after the record's over.” Pitchfork
“joyous, un-jaded, and bursting at the seams with promise” Uncut
“When (Pearl’s) bandmates rev up a proper garage-rock racket, she dives in like she was born with her own irresistible rock-star sneer.” Spin
“musically, they’re well beyond their years, augmenting their paroxysmal tantrums with sturdy touches of glam, cock rock, ’70s metal and points outlying.” Paste
Tour Dates
5/5 - Shaky Knees Music Festival - Atlanta, GA
6/3 - Primavera Sound - Barcelona
6/6 - Moth Club - London
6/10 - Primaveral Sound - Madrid
Connect with Be Your Own Pet
