Be Your Own Pet

Yes, Be Your Own Pet plays familiar-sounding pop-punk brat rock. And yes, frontwoman Jemina Pearl sounds a lot like Karen O. But just try resisting the band's pull in "Food Fight!" — a tasty tune about a cafeteria war, where "extra cheese is thrown in your face." It sounds dumb, and believe us, it is. And so is "Zombie Graveyard Party," where Pearl and crew feast on some brains at a shindig. Be Your Own Pet's four members are just getting out of high school, so they mean what they sing — especially in highlight "Becky," a bouncy ode to jealousy, betrayal, and friendship bracelets. It all culminates with our hero heading off to "juvie [for] teenage homicide" (Becky got what she deserved, apparently). It's also indicative of what Get Awkward and Be Your Own Pet are all about: riffing on the big fat void in the middle of a teenage wasteland.