Jay Reatard

Memphis-based punk rock force Jay Reatard explored multiple styles from the late 1990s onward, beginning in his bedroom where he laid down punk, synth punk, power pop, and basic rock & roll tracks with relentless speed. Born Jay Lindsey, he left high school at age 15 because traditional classes bored him and his family situation was difficult. Exposure to Nirvana through MTV sparked his interest in rock & roll, prompting him to start composing songs during his mid-teens. The sight of Memphis punk blues legends the Oblivians supporting Rocket from the Crypt motivated Lindsey to form his own project, the Reatards, which at first consisted solely of Lindsey handling vocals, guitar, and percussion on a bucket for his four-track recordings.

Eric Friedl, also known as Eric Oblivian from the Oblivians, responded to Lindsey’s early tapes by agreeing to issue a Reatards release on his Goner Records imprint; the resulting 7" EP Get Real Stupid came out in 1998, at which point Lindsey took the performing name Jay Reatard. Later that year a full-length Reatards album, Teenage Hate, arrived after Reatard assembled a three-piece lineup—Steve Albundy Reatard on bass and Elvis Wong Reatard on drums—to enable live shows. Seattle’s Empty Records put out a second Reatards LP, Grown Up Fucked Up, in 1999, yet the next year Reatard launched the side project the Lost Sounds that quickly became his primary focus.

The Lost Sounds, built around Reatard’s then-girlfriend Alicja Trout on keyboards and guitar plus drummer Rich Crook, delivered synth punk shaped by the Screamers and featured alternating vocals between Reatard and Trout; the group issued four albums from 2001 to 2004 before dissolving suddenly in 2005. While the Lost Sounds were active, Reatard briefly revived the Reatards and also played in the Bad Times alongside Eric Friedl, the Final Solutions with high-school friends from the Jackmonkeys, and Angry Angles alongside members of the Lids, Die Rötzz, and Tokyo Electron; following the Lost Sounds’ breakup he made short-lived recordings with Terror Visions and Destruction Units.

Reatard launched his solo career in 2006 with the Goner single “Hammer, I Miss You” and the In the Red album Blood Visions. After several additional solo 7"s he joined Matador Records in 2008, issuing the first of six planned singles for the label, “See Saw,” that April. Matador compiled Singles 06-07 in June from earlier releases on multiple imprints, then issued Matador Singles ’08 in October, rounding up that year’s label singles with one extra track. The intense schedule of live dates and recordings persisted with the 2009 album Watch Me Fall. Reatard’s life ended when he was discovered deceased at his Memphis residence on January 13th, 2010. ~ Mark Deming