Typically, when the UK press seizes upon a new band, it screeches all sorts of hyperbolic nonsense so loud and so often that by the time the latest "It" band hits our shores, deaf ears greet it together with a collective, anti-climactic yawn. The twist this time is that the new "It" band is from Nashville, Tennessee, but it's the English press that's going berserk.

On the gimmicky end of things, Be Your Own Pet is young- far too young for such incredible things to be happening. Vocalist Jemina Pearl just turned 18 last fall. She's a cuter Karen O with a voice that's so hyper-energetic it borders on annoying. In a whirlwind year, her band has been signed by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth to his Ecstatic Peace! label in the US, to XL recordings in England, named one of the top ten bands to watch by Rolling Stone, and ignited the aforementioned frenzy of buzz in the UK. So, yeah, this band has accomplished more than most bands do in an entire career without even releasing an album.

Ostensibly, this EP explains all the hype. To the cynic it will sound derivative: spunky garage rock with catchy, manic vocals; but, to the novice, it just might be your new favorite band. I can easily relate to both, as the derivations are conspicuous, but it's hard not be excited by a band that's this unconventionally brash.