Jay Reatard - Matador Singles ’08

Dumb but fun collection of limited 7”s

The bloated gods of supply-and-demand sat mortified as Reatard recently released a series of six monthly 7” platters, each in increasingly limited runs, just as the buzz about him grew and the desire for product reached a fever pitch. This set gathers together all that combined vinyl booty (with the exception of Deerhunter’s cover of Oh, It’s Such A Shame) and it’s testament to why the wunderkind’s name is spreading above and beyond the small coterie of hipster goons at Pitchfork and Vice.

Every track is a bona fide pop-powered garage gem, strewn with incendiary guitar breaks, cheesy organ runs and stroppy, snotty, sloppy vocal exorcisms. Reatard’s simple songs speak to the kid in us all, the jumped-up juvenile dwelling deep in our hearts and loins, screaming of heartbreak and railing against injustice. They also double up as a neat piece of 80s nostalgia. Check Reatard’s Peter Perrett-style blitz during the denouement on opening salvo See/Saw or tune-in for his best Gary Numan impression on You Mean Nothing To Me.

It’s best to drop the amateur philosophising and just juice up on these kick ass jams. So, hop on a Jolt Cola buzz and crank it up loud for a little riot of your own.

Matador | OLE 822-2

Reviewed by Spencer Grady
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