Jay Reatard has been making a garage-inspired racket for almost a
dozen years in a variety of guises — the last four as a solo
artist. His musicianship has sharpened, and his second solo album
delivers more of the fuzz, revealing even greater pop grandeur. He’s
always demonstrated a preference for short, high-energy blasts that
rarely crack the three minute-mark, but Watch Me Fall crams more
hooks into his careening rock nuggets. There’s also more sophistication
in the arrangements as Reatard sheds lo-fi vestments to explore
strings, organs and mandolin. The resultant blend of punch and melody
suggests the fizzy punk of the Buzzcocks on the infectious “It Ain’t
Gonna Save Me” and the poseur-popping burst “Faking It.” Other tracks
dial back the intensity to simmering indie-pop, from “I’m Watching
You,” which cadges a riff from Nick Lowe’s “Cruel to Be Kind” and
swaths it in organ shimmer, to the jangling resplendent album-closer,
“There Is No Sun.” It may be a new look, but he wears it well,
retaining the vibrancy while significantly upping the charm. —
Chris Parker
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2009.
