by D. Jeffurious

From the hurried metroplex of Olney, Illinois. Home of White Squirrels and also a lasting punk legacy located south of Chicago in so many ways from the literal to the figurative, and the philosophical. Those who know, remember the glorious Toucan Slam. The band served as the vanguard for the DIY attitude that has been embraced by this music community for a few decades now. There is a lingering odor for sure and it is not just the vinegar plant.

I have found that progressive, indie rock is really where it is at today. It works especially well in a localized music context, where regional bands are heavily revered. New music rockets its way to the popular ear in actual nanoseconds. This I swear is the truth. Catch the wave!

The Pets are a new group to come along and really establish themselves as a regeneration of the town’s local musical culture and as the upscale music journalists would say they are by extension a representation of growing global neo-grunge-and neo-post-post punk. I will now enjoy a robust, foppish chuckle and regain composure, thusly.

Dynamic, raw rock ‘n’ roll has always been a good sort of medication. Music is there to ease your emotional booboos. In acting upon the passion of loving our own personal soundtrack. We all sing in a joined chorus; a life that is essential comes with essential music.

I am still on the lookout for glimpses of anything that comes with some classically overdriven guitars and some stoney lyrics. I swear’t keeps the humors alert! At times it can be compared to a bracing jolt of cough syrup self-administered on any random congested day. Taken straight from the bottle because you are sick and have decided to stop fucking around!

When the vibe is strong enough it can see you through to a new, untapped, potentially optional energy. That unique kind of energy that rises up your spine and begins reducing any kind of ache.

Good rock ‘n’ roll (no matter which side of the spectrum) should not only make you feel righteously free, but it should also make you want to dance. If not dance, then vomit. Have you ever puked because you found a band so good or a song so life-altering? Have you never felt nothing? Honey, hush! Music is an elixir and when mixed right is a way to reach up to the heavens.

Meeting The Pets

The night the band and I first met up I received a message from lead guitarist Ian Strong. He gave me instructions to meet them for a late evening rehearsal after hours. I showed up at the address around 9 that night. As I made my way through the dimly lit showroom of a closed furniture store. Chairs, couches, bedroom, and dining room sets. Comfort everywhere. I chose the wooden chair. The first night the band held an audience of about five people. There were a few family members taking pictures and myself sitting at a table with the lead singer’s boyfriend, an affable young fellow named Coyt sipping on an unidentified hooch in a sweaty glass.

The group consists of Ian Strong on guitar, vocalist Millie Ginder, bassist Drew Blank (who inundated that night’s practice with frequent trips to the bathroom), joking with the drummer Garrett Cummins. This was also the eve of the band stepping into a recording studio to lay down the opening tracks for their first release. The task for the band that night was to tighten the screws on their songs. I lurked about in the background and let them work. The band tore through the track list that they had mapped out for the next morning’s recording purposes.

Later on, the band relaxed on a giant sectional couch in the corner of the sales space and Ian explained that the band’s sound draws influence from a large source including various 1990’s alternative bands, specifically Red Hot Chili Peppers, My Morning Jacket, plus classics like Jimi Hendrix and on and on. When asked about the roots of the band. Ian said there were a couple of early versions of The Pets with different personnel here and there. Strong recalled the moment they stumbled upon the coincidence that not only did they have the full line up, but they were in fact near and dear friends. They had been hanging out with each other the entire time. Ah Ha! Call it Kismet.

“Millie and Coyt were always part of rehearsals.” Strong explains, “So it made sense to have her step into the vacant lead singer position.”

Within a couple of weeks this high-powered bunch of young rock n rollers came roaring forth with their new album, What This Is?

A solid presentation of the energetic range of this young band. The opening track “Message In A Bottle” a proper hard rocker and rolls barreling out of the gate. Beckoning the listener on with its fixed idea of, “C’mon baby I know you want to…follow me.”

The song “Parasite Peter” is a bright heavy song of paranoia, and over-the-top dramatics. What This Is? has plenty of mosh pit worthy toe-tappers. Sweet songs to swing your friends around to while occasionally putting your elbow into their sternum. Yet there is also a softer side to The Pets. From the playful romp of “Gumby”. To the dreamlike and luscious colorful tones of  “Broken Hands”. They can then shift gear into more upbeat numbers such as “Heartbeat In The Brain” and the title track “What This Is?” The album from the beginning lifts you up and you embark on a voyage. What This Is? Takes you on a journey, it gets emotional here and there. But that’s rock and roll. Not only can it be the medication it can also be the hurt in the most contextual and wonderous of ways.

     While there is an aesthetic of Punk Rock 101 within the sound of the band and while it solidifies the theme of the album it does not define it. Brashness melts into melodic balladry. Loud turns quiet turns loud. But The Pets prefer to stay away from being associated with straight up punk rock. Not to kill any sort of expectations. I mean, who am I to tell you what your hopes should be? Expect the delightful surprises and the surprising delights! This album is all about multi-organism stridulations and the truest sound that can be written, performed, maintained, and perpetuated. It is the centrifugation of it all. It is the “big wheel that keeps on turning”. The whispering spirit of college rock radio. With its own kind of romance, we are healed, it’s straight up love and that has not relented.