Fast-playing BYOP sparked an indie buzz in 2005 as a raw, late-teens rock band from Nashville with an archetypal post-punk hellcat in lead singer/yelper Jemina Pearl Abegg. The buzz built up further after they launched a string of three hot singles without releasing an album. By then their mystique ensured that the rock press had bestowed on them the title of "potential saviors of rock" (which is only trotted out for, oh, 10 or 20 bands a year), and so expectations were high for this, their first full-length album.
It's the well-constructed songs that stand out. The marching rhythm of single "Adventure" grabs attention, while the chatty teen vocal becomes positively infectious. There are several such moments in between the more standard energy-over-substance fare. A comparison with Yeah Yeah Yeahs is apt. BYOP never really approach that New York band's sublimeness or complexity, but the sound and attitude is similar. Nonetheless, BYOP deserve to be taken on their own terms. With a little more focus on songwriting, they could achieve their own brand of greatness.
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