Jemina Pearl – Break It Up

Album Reviews • Wednesday November 18th, 2009 • 9:10 am

Looking at the imagery and credits on her first solo album, you get the idea that ex-Be Your Own Pet vocalist Jemina Pearl is swinging for the fences. The cover photo, one of a Pearl standing with a come-hither pose is stylistically similar to countless other album artwork of divas past (i.e. Mariah Carey, even Christina Aguilera). An inside liner photo depicts Pearl and her chief collaborator John Eartherly as a Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood imitation straight off the Nancy & Lee album. Other people lending their hand to Pearl’s debut are Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, who plays and provides backing vocals on three songs, and punk godfather Iggy Pop. Even the name of the album, Break It Up, echoes the well-known song from the punk godmother Patti Smith.

With all of these factors making an impression even before pressing play, you already jump in Pearl’s corner. You want her to succeed; you want this to be a great album. Unfortunately, Pearl falls short of creating something that is able to stand out. Break It Up’s bark is far bigger than it’s bite. Frequently the album becomes repetitive, flat, and misses out on great opportunities.

For example, Iggy Pop is slightly wasted on the first single “I Hate People,” with him limited to singing the hook behind Pearl. It’s a purposeless role, as anybody could have provided the vocals without much change. He is merely there in name to add some punk cred to a song that embodies his hard-fisted attitude. The video features Pearl as a diner waitress singing along with lip-synching images of Iggy, “Oh, I hate people, but I like you.” The song and video are so tongue-in-cheek that they’re quite fun. Even without a more substantial Iggy performance, Pearl holds up the song.

The contributions of the other big name, Thurston Moore, are more significant and help make “After Hours” the highlight of the album. Pearl sounds vicious backed by her long time supporter and record label head. “Think about mom, she would say what? Don’t, don’t be a slut. Don’t, don’t give it up,” She sings over Moore’s frantically paced guitar and some aggressive drum work. “Retrograde” is another standout for similar reasons. Pearl’s lyrics of “My hands smell like cheeseburgers and cigarettes/ On the tips of my figures I count my regrets/ Try to except who I’ve become/ cause I’ve done things I would have never done,” are some of the best found on here.

Many of the other tracks are forgettable. Yet similar to “I Hate People,” Jemina Pearl salvages the album. While the musicianship gets tiresome, Pearl herself is a bright spot with attitude and hard songwriting. Her lyrics roar louder than the tracks they are set against and her high-pitched voice makes them stand out even more. Where Break It Up falls in on itself, she is able to pick it back up. You begin the album in Jemina Pearl’s corner, and even after a rocky road to the end, you really never leave.

Tagged as: Brooklyn, garage punk