Memphis punk prodigy Jay Reatard is due to follow up last year’s singles collection with the release of his new album ‘Watch Me Fall’.
Real name Jay Lindsay, Jay Reatard has become hot property as a result of last year’s singles collection ‘Matador Singles 08’. The blank title belies the white hot imagination that runs through his music, with Reatard moving from frenetic hardcore punk to something approaching pop music.
His first cohesive solo album since 2006, forthcoming album ‘Watch Me Fall’ should see the Memphis talent established as an innovative name. Released through Matador, Jay Reatard described the making of the album to his label mate Andrew Earles.
“This new album has been challenging. It’s the first time I’ve written and recorded an album specifically because a label wants to release it. I’ve never made a record for a record label. I’ve always finished my recordings and then a label is decided on.”
“When I made Blood Visions I had no idea that it was going to see the light of day. And I’ve never made a record in which the label heard the songs, or anyone heard the songs, before the album was finished, so that’s kind of intense. That’s what singles are for; I always considered my singles as a glimpse between the albums.”
“Labels always had the previous single as an example of where I was going at the time, or of what the next album might sound like. In this situation, people at the label are hearing the songs before the album has been finished, but I try not to let it distract me, I’m trying to go about this process in a way that’s the closest to how I would have done an album in the past.”
“A lot of bands these days, they approach the making of an album like it’s collecting songs, they don’t think about how all of the songs are going to work together. They sequence their albums on iTunes, wondering what songs sound best next to each other rather than putting them together as they were written. That’s not an album.”
Jay Reatard has been busy of late updating his website. The boss of Shattered Records, you can now buy rare material from the site, which also acts as a central point for Reatard’s astonishing imaginative bursts.
The songwriter is currently touring Europe and is set to play Spain’s Primavera festival this weekend. No UK dates have been confirmed as yet, though it must only be a short wait until he re-appears on these isles.
Fans can now download a sampler from ‘Watch Me Fall’. The track ‘Ain’t Gonna Save Me’ is available as a free download, to claim your copy just click HERE!
Jay Reatard is due to release his new album ‘Watch Me Fall’ on August 17th.
