Jay Reatard is the Lil Wayne of the Memphis garage-rock scene: dude's spent the past few years building a discography so overstuffed that already he's released two singles round-ups as well as a disc with tracks he recorded before he began going by Jay Reatard. (Ah, the good old days.) Watch Me Fall is his big studio debut for Matador, and as such it comes slightly less coated in trash-guitar grime.
Some tracks, like "Hang Them All," even make use of such high-end recording techniques as overdubbing. But these dozen tunes don't find him any more dedicated to the musty notion of stylistic consistency.
Rather, these tunes chart a crazy course through record-collector history, from strummy British Invasion–style pop ("I'm Watching You") to paranoid sludge rock ("Can't Do It Anymore") to Wire-like post-punk ("Rotten Mind") to one cut that sounds exactly like the great Seattle power-pop band the Fastbacks ("Faking It"). Reatard wants to do it all, and he comes pretty close.
JAY REATARD | Harpers Ferry, 154 Brighton Ave, Allston | October 2 | www.harpersferryboston.com
