Album Reviews

Memphis punk rocker Jay Reatard has lit up the blogosphere over the last couple years, but he's been raising a racket for the better part of the past decade. His formal introduction to some will be Singles 06-07, which seems to make clear that Reatard considers recent years to be his most fruitful. Singles re-visists a few tracks from his big solo breakthrough, 2006's Blood Visions, and charges through a total of 16 songs in 36 minutes. For anyone familiar with Reatard by name only, the compilation is a fine way to become acquainted. Unless you're a collector or Reatard completist looking to shell out big bucks for vinyl on eBay, it’s also the only way to get your hands on many of the tracks within.

Singles 06-07 kicks off with a sound of shattering glass, like someone breaking into the listener's home, and then Reatard starts yelping over a bass line about a "Night of Broken Glass" until kicking into overdrive for a pounding chorus that provides one of the album's best adrenaline shots. Reatard doesn't bother to give much back story, but when he shrieks about not wanting to go back and revisit old feelings, he's very convincing. He likes to adapt a snooty, faux British accent at times, and there's a lot of old-school punk ethos to his lo-fi approach to the material; the guitar playing is aggressive but rooted in pop sensibilities (as on the infectious "Hammer I Miss You"), and the percussion provides a propulsive spine throughout. As is typical for an artist who releases so much material, he lets some filler slip out–even during the course of a "singles" compilation. But anyone seeking for a straight-ahead blast of no-frills rock will walk away from Singles 06-07 satisfied and anxious for the 08-09 edition.

—Adam McKibbin
07.22.08