The Donnybrook Writing Academy

Most Likely To: break her poor father’s heart.

The phrase “preacher’s daughter” is almost universally regarded as synonymous with “fun person to know on a Saturday night.” Why, just look at that Lori Singer from Footloose! Out playing chicken on deserted highways and makin’ bacon with that bad boy who brought dancing to town. Oh, her poor father! Trying to take a stand for something in this wicked old world, and for his troubles gets undermined by his own beloved baby girl. Dear me! If this humble reverend had a daughter, he’d be locking her in her room right now just on general principle, and don’t you doubt it!

While that horrid little ingrate Katy Perry is the current poster girl for preacher’s daughters gone wrong, Jemina Pearl, the former lead singer of the frenzied Nashville punk combo Be Your Own Pet, is likely causing just as much grey hair for her poor pappy. Technically, her unfortunate pere is not really a preacher, but he’s close enough. That woebegone sap would be Jimmy A(begg) – a longtime stalwart in the Christian alternative music industry who played in Vector back in the ‘80s, one of the first Christian bands that actually had the bright idea to be somewhat worth listening to.

And his thanks for having a hand in rescuing an entire generation of God-fearing youth from the sort of bland boogie rock played by fat men with mustaches, which had been the norm in Christian rock before Jimmy and his ilk came along? A devil daughter, that’s what! A little hellion of a spitfire singing songs about partying with zombies and full of coarse language and attitude, hanging out with the likes of Sonic Youth and Redd Kross! Not for nothing was she named after Jemina, one of the daughters of Job, that long suffering patriarch who suffered every calamity imaginable just because he was a nice guy. Jimmy A knows just how Job felt, and must surely look at that other Nashville area punkette, Paramore’s virtuous Hayley Williams, and sigh wistfully. Now there’s a girl any sort-of preacher would be proud to claim as the fruit of his loins!

Hayley would never chirp “I never sold my soul to the devil/I gave it away for free,” as Jemina does on “Looking For Trouble,” one of the many excellent songs on her solo debut. Nor would she duet with that ancient old reprobate Iggy Pop on a hellishly catchy ditty called “I Hate People.” In fact, the entirety of Break It Up can only be attributable to Satan – only Ol’ Scratch could pack so many bonafide killer pop hooks into an album calculated to break a Christian father’s heart.

Pearl’s songs don’t particularly sound like The Ramones or early Blondie, but they sure seem like them – full throttle pop songs that slam into the listener’s long-term memory with the force of a bullet, unlikely to ever be removed. The opener “Heartbeats” sets the template for the whole album, just over two minutes of breakneck attitude and sass. Be Your Own Pet had some great songs, but few as immediately memorable as every track on this album is. That combo’s songs sometimes got swamped by the fury of the presentation, something that doesn’t happen on Break It Up – the album strikes a nearly perfect balance between old school punk ferocity and accessible pop sheen.

So what is a God-fearing father to do with a hellcat demon child like Jemina Pearl? She can be warned that she’s on the road to ruin, but damn, it’s hard to make that argument when she’s made an album this good. Perhaps he can just look once again to the lessons of Footloose. After his daughter conspired to destroy everything he’d worked for and defeat him in front of the town where he’d previously commanded untarnished respect, a sad John Lithgow sighed “Ariel, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.” To which she responded “There ain’t nothing to do with me, daddy. Like it or not, this is it. It doesn’t get much better.” Which is a sentiment that definitely applies to Break It Up – it couldn’t be much better. One imagines that even Jemina Pearl’s daddy would have to agree.

Listen to “I Hate People” (featuring Iggy Pop) from Jemina Pearl:

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