Jay Reatard “Watch Me Fall” Review

Jay Reatard has made quite the interesting progression on his first two solo records. Since the pummeling fuzz, swinging hair and Flying V snarls of his debut record Blood Visions, Reatard has now re-envisioned himself as a softer-around-the-edges pop writing machine on his sophomore release Watch Me Fall. Of course, in between the two albums he released more singles Weezy, compiled on the amazing discs Singles ’06 and Matador Singles 07-08—both discs showed Reatard refining his sound and peeling away layers of scuzz that had previously hid his uncanny ability to write knockout pop songs.

Reatard ups the anti on Watch Me Fall, mixing his vocals up even higher and experimenting with more straightforward songwriting arrangements than on his previous work. The album starts out with the stunning “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me,” which rips straight out of the gates with bouncing guitar lines mixing with Reatard’s soprano yelp. About 30 seconds into the song, Reatard’s alter-ego rears its head for the first time on the album however; in a deeper, darker voice, Reatard laments on his bad luck, including the line “And then a cloud came in the sky it shit on me, I don’t know why.” Despite giving a spit shine to his musical canvass, Reatard continues to keep his lyrics aimed at self deprecating themes on the album—me against the world type stanzas. Near the end of “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me,” he spits out that he “Doesn’t give a shit” with virile venom. No matter how much attention you pay to the hook-laden music or the downtrodden and angry lyrics, “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me” is a killer track and an arresting introduction to Watch Me Fall.

“Before I Was Caught” is built on a stuttering guitar riff and finds Reatard laying in bed thinking back about the time before the shit hit the fan. Near the end of the song the guitars ramp up and the vocals are layered to a distinct effect that adds a layer of suspense to the song. Up next is the mid-tempo track “Man of Steel,” which I can only guess is about Superman. Unfortunately for Clark Kent, this song is not one of the better tracks on the album and seems stalled and relatively listless. Coming back with two sub 2:00 songs, “Can’t Do It Anymore” and “Faking It,” Reatard and the band return to form however; “Can’t Do It Anymore” rumbles along behind a pulsing rhythm section while “Faking It” finds Reatard splitting the difference between his old and new sound, with half the song pummeling punk rock and the other delicate pop. With its strange instrumentation, the introduction to “I’m Watching You” could be mistaken for a Neutral Milk Hotel song. The sweet, loving ode to a friend (or lover) who has let him down is probably the slowest, mellowest track Reatard has ever made. This is a great track that shows his versatility and strengths in songwriting that are not wrapped in layers of noise (not that layers of noise are bad, mind you).

[photo by Rob Walbers via Matador]

Reatard starts out the second half of the disc with a poppy, acoustic driven song titled “Wounded.” The song is highlighted by various accents which feature the instruments hitting beats along with Retard’s manic vocals. It’s another example of a song on the record that has moderate crossover appeal, something that couldn’t really be said about Jay Reatard in the past. “Rotten Mind” finds Reatard reading the mantra that he doesn’t “Want to be this way.” The dark track is juxtaposed with some road weary harmonies and omnipresent power chords. “Rotten Mind” is followed by the dark and brooding “Nothing Now,” which starts off with scratchy muted guitars and ominous drum fills. The first lines out of Retard’s mouth, in a distant, demented voice, is “Stay away from me,” which sets the town for the whole song. Reatard’s voice sounds almost British in the song, which laments someone who has missed out on their opportunity and is now paying the price.

“My Reality” slows things down again with a mid-tempo song anchored by Reatard’s effect-laden vocals over charging guitar parts and tambourine back beats. “Hang Them All” finds Reatard returning the uptempo, snarling guitar roots of his previous record. Album closer “There Is No Sun” has Reatard scratching his late 1960′s psychedelic itch on a song that is as dramatic and adventurous as anything he has created. There are vocal harmonies, walls of guitars built for stadium-sized audiences and crescendos that would seem incomprehensible from the same man who created Blood Vision.

While expanding musically, Reatard has shown both the skills and the creativity to think outside of the realm that had originally earned him attention. While people may still harp on his technical shortcomings, and I would wager a bet that at least a few old fans will scream “sell out,” Reatard has taken an impressive step forward with Watch Me Fall. Combining his fuzzy past with his abundant songwriting chops, Reatard has deftly proven himself to be more than a one trick pony. Watch Me Fall is a great example of an artist who has grown out of his previous restraints and with it Jay Reatard has created one of the most entertaining and engaging records of the year.

Jay Reatard “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me” [MP3]
Jay Reatard “Wounded” [MP3]

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