In Stores Now: Watch Me Fall by Jay Reatard

Polaroid from a collection of family photos by Mark Hooper (neonbubble), c. 1970

Jay Reatard is the one-man band of Jay Lindsey, a punk rocker on the verge of turning thirty. He's been putting out records since his mid-teens, though, so the "big three-oh" may not mean much to him. In the last couple years, Lindsey's music has started to reach a wider audience, following the breakthrough Blood Visions album and the string of excellent singles he's put out since 2006. One of his Matador singles from last year (the No Time 7") had an overtly non-punk kiwi-pop sound to it that Lindsey had only hinted at in earlier recordings with an increased use of organ and acoustic guitar. Lindsey said that his fascination with New Zealand's indie pop scene would be the biggest influence on his next record, and now we have that record, the new Watch Me Fall on Matador Records. Is this really a twee pop record from Jay Reatard?

Yes and no. On the first few spins with Watch Me Fall, the big thing that struck me was that there was an early-'80s power-pop feel to a lot of the songs. And there's definitely plenty of nods to NZ bands like the Clean, the Chills, and the Bats here as well. But these influences are hardly incorporated seamlessly - Lindsey is still writing punk songs, but now he's grafting other things on to them ex post facto. Opening single "It Ain't Gonna Save Me" is straightforward pop-punk with Lindsey showcasing both of his "punk" vocal styles (throaty bark and sneering whine), but it ends with an unexpected extended organ coda. "Can't Do It Anymore" has an excellent chorus hook with a new-wave bounce, but it gets cut off by an irritating squealing guitar solo. "Before I Was Caught" and "Faking It" also feature great pop pegs that have been hammered into punk holes.

Halfway through Watch Me Fall, we start getting some songs that incorporate these parts better. "I'm Watching You" is a fleshed-out version of the twee-pop sketch appended to last year's Matador Singles '08 - a martial drumbeat gives it some needed oomph here, and it has no traces of punk attitude. "Wounded" starts with a la-da-da-da hook and acoustic guitar riff that seques awkwardly to a stupid shouted chorus, but the two halves are brought together nicely on the outro. A few unremarkable songs toward the end of the record mess up the momentum a little, but the overall feel of the record is very nice. The songs that are roughly stitched together keep you a little off-balance, but they have a charm of their own that goes nicely with the less "punk" numbers.

Watch Me Fall's last song - "There Is No Sun" - blows away just about everything else I've heard this year. I know that a lot of people aren't looking for huge dynamic swings and moaning cellos from Jay Reatard - I didn't think it was what I was looking for, either. But it is really great, and it shows that Jay Lindsey's fifteen years of recording experience have given him a real ear for song structures and layered sounds. If that's true, then the mismatched arrangements of Watch Me Fall must not be accidents. Maybe this record is purposefully transitional in its sound - I will be very happy if "There Is No Sun" is an indication of where Lindsey is going next with his evolving and maturing take of punk and pop music.

"There Is No Sun" by Jay Reatard