Jemina Pearl

Following the 2008 summer breakup of Nashville punks Be Your Own Pet, vocalist Jemina Pearl sustained her partnership with drummer John Eatherly. Shifting Eatherly to guitar duties, the duo composed material that fused the prior group’s jagged aggression and erratic drive with pop and new wave elements. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, operator of the band’s former imprint Ecstatic Peace!, connected the songwriters with producer John Agnello; together they shaped tracks echoing “Becky,” the ’60s “girl group gone wrong” number excised from Be Your Own Pet’s last release, Get Awkward, because of its violent content. The pair relocated to Brooklyn and assembled guitarist Max Peebles (ex-member of Be Your Own Pet offshoot Turbo Fruits), bassist Ben Pearson, and drummer Erik Ratensperger. Their debut performance occurred in January 2009 as openers for the Fluid. In March, Eatherly and Pearl began sessions with Agnello that captured most of Pearl’s solo record across the ensuing eight weeks. During the summer, the track “I Hate People” featuring Iggy Pop surfaced online. Moore and David Sitek of TV on the Radio also contributed to Break It Up, issued in fall 2009.