CD Review: Jay Reatard
By Casey Gillis on Nov. 12, 2008
By Blair Amberly
ARTIST: Jay Reatard
ALBUM: ‘Matador Singles ’08’
LABEL: Matador
REVIEWER RATING: 4 out of 5
Punk music, like all other genres, can have so many idiosyncratic styles and influences that it becomes hard to slap a label on a certain sound. Jay Reatard fits this bill perfectly.
Is it garage-rock, power pop or punk revival? Yes to all of the above and, most importantly, these tracks are outstanding.
The story behind this release has become quite mythical. The Memphis-based Reatard is an extremely prolific musician, who released a slew of 7-inch record singles on the Matador label this year. Each had two songs and was released in very limited numbers.
In the record-collecting community (especially among punk collectors), small, limited releases are common but, a high demand causes the price of these records to skyrocket. In Reatards’ case, his Matador singles were instantly selling on eBay for 10 times their original price.
The allure around these hard-to-obtain singles created sufficient buzz to put Reatard’s name into a larger audience pool. Capitalizing at the perfect time, Matador has just released these tracks together for everyone who could not hunt down each of the singles.
And herein lies the reason for the intense eBay commotion: Jay Reatard’s current output is fantastic. He has infused his songs with enough catchy sing-along moments and pop-inspired riffs that these 13 tracks are much more accessible than your average punk music.
The frenetic guitars swell perfectly around Reatards staggered, commanding delivery. Opener “See/Saw’s” fuzzy, super-fast guitar and drum work finds Jay bellowing about the pushes and pulls of relationships. Undeniable energy circulates throughout these simple riffs and carefully structured songs. The melodic, vocal choruses on “An Ugly Death” and “Always Wanting More” stand out as album highlights.
The songs are arranged chronologically according to release order, which gives us some awareness of Reatard’s direction towards the end of this year. The final three tracks are slower, beautifully emotional songs centered around acoustic guitar and Reatard’s most introspective songwriting.
Reatard’s “Matador Singles ’08” is a unique, friendlier turn for punk music and is so solid that it will resonate well with longtime Reatard fans, as well as win him plenty of new ones.
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