When most couples break up, they dump material possessions. They sell the ex's CDs, junk the jewelry, and wipe the dog vomit with that favorite T-shirt. When Jay Reatard's relationships collapse, he loses a band. Throughout the 26-year-old's decade-plus career, he's partnered his punk loyalty with a fickle heart, keeping labels like Goner, In the Red, and his own Shattered Records well stocked in the process. Some cherished Reatard unions (with and without exes) include Lost Sounds, Destruction Unit, Angry Angles, and those rowdy Reatards. When asked about the expiration dates for his dozen or so synth- and garage-punk projects, Reatard admits with a laugh, "It's usually when I break up with a girlfriend. I have this bad habit of forming bands with them, so that'll just be the end of it." On the phone from his Memphis home, Reatard bolsters his image as the king of the quick release by adding, "A couple months ago I moved out of my house, broke up with my girlfriend, and quit my job all in one day. I literally woke up the next day like, OK, I have a completely different life; this is awesome."
Jay Reatard goes for the jugular.
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Jay Reatard and Tokyo Electron play two shows together this week: Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Hemlock at 6 p.m. (early show). Admission is $6; call 923-0923 or visit
www.hemlocktavern.com for more info. They'll also perform on Sunday, Jan. 21, at the Knockout at 10 p.m. Admission is $7; call 550-6994 or visit
www.theknockoutsf.com for more info.
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So it's no surprise that the guy's gone solo again, this time by releasing his first record under the name Jay Reatard. Titled Blood Visions, Reatard tags the new disc "a sappy breakup record." It's definitely one of 2006's most electrifying albums, though — the antithesis of maudlin. From the hiccupping kickoff of the title track through the squirmy, screamy knockouts on "My Shadow," Blood Visionsis the sound of healing through hypermania. There's no sluggish sniveling here. The songs are 110 percent carbonated and shaken till they explode, as defiant and rough as the Hives' Barely Legaldebut, with just as much pop. The record also exudes an anxious ebullience, Reatard's resiliency compressed into an homage to the Wipers as well as Brits like Wire and the Adverts (whose "We Who Wait" Reatard covers here).
Even in stasis, Reatard is infectiously fidgety. "I'm sitting here waiting for something to happen," he repeats on "Waiting for Something," before bolting forward and exclaiming, "Oh no no no! They won't get me." Instead of wallowing in misery, he kills the pain with snotty threats and flip sentiment backed by walls of atmospheric effects.
Reatard crafted these hook-filled Visionswhile living in Atlanta for 10 months — taking with him only a guitar, a pair of jeans, and a couple T-shirts. "I've never even lived in another city besides Memphis. It was weird, but it worked out. I came back with a new girlfriend and another band," he says with another laugh, "which, well, now it's time to start a new band again."
Although he's yet to road-test these new tunes, Reatard's already working on a second solo record for the fall (as well as upcoming releases from Angry Angles, Terror Visions, and Final Solutions) and listening to New Zealanders Tall Dwarves and the Clean. So the formerly self-bloodying performer is working on quieter "weird pop stuff." "It's gonna be a lot wimpier," he says. "It's a lot of home recorder stuff — like what bands like Guided by Voices later ripped off." But don't get too doe-eyed over the softer side of Reatard. He foreshadows a broken promise there as well: "I'm gonna have to put [out] something a bit more aggressive mixed between, or it's gonna come off way too twee," he explains. "Or, who knows, I also might just rerecord all those songs amped up and electric." It's tough to nail down this prolific garage punk — although his relationship to contagious sonic output sounds plenty committed.
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