Lost Sounds

One of Memphis garage-punk figure Jay Reatard’s most enduring and productive endeavors, Lost Sounds merged the frantic drive and sharp emotional bite of his prior group the Reatards with a darker, tuneful sensibility once synthesizers entered the mix alongside abrasive guitars and pounding percussion, at times echoing the stark assault of early synth-punk acts such as the Screamers and Suicide. In spring 1999 Jay Reatard launched the project alongside Alicja Trout, who had already experimented with synthesizers in her brief band the Clears, and Rich Crook; Reatard and Trout handled vocals, guitars, and keyboards while Crook took the drum chair. The trio moved quickly to capture their sound, issuing a four-song 7" EP in 2000 on Solid Sex Lovie Doll Records and following it with the debut full-length Memphis Is Dead on Big Neck Records the next year. Later in 2001 Empty Records released their second album, Black-Wave, whose title referenced a hybrid style blending new wave and black metal that observers had attached to the group; a continuous flow of singles, compilation appearances, and small-run CD-Rs of rehearsals and demos also surfaced, reinforcing the band’s image for restless creativity and diligence even as their taste for heavy drinking and frequent disputes became equally notorious, with several bassists cycling through the ranks and occasional performances occurring without one. Empty issued a third studio album, Rats Brains & Microchips, in 2002, and in 2004 the band aligned with the established garage-punk imprint In the Red Records, which put out both the EP Future Touch and the self-titled full-length Lost Sounds that same year. The group logged multiple U.S. tours behind its early releases and, after signing with In the Red, extended its travels to Europe, yet mounting internal tensions ultimately prevailed, prompting the members to announce on their website that “Lost Sounds disbanded abruptly yet not unexpectedly in 2005.” Reatard briefly reactivated the Reatards before establishing a thriving solo path, Trout later joined Nervous Patterns, River City Tanlines, and Black Sunday while operating her own Contaminated Records label, and Crook fronts Lover! while drumming for the Knaughty Knights.