Watch Me Fall

No one would make the mistake of calling Watch Me Fall a polished album. If 12 raucous songs in 32 minutes is pretty much par for the course for punk, then Jay Reatard is getting his PhD. After stints with the Reatards and Lost Souls, Reatard is something of a seasoned pro, but he still sounds delighted by the newness of the music he’s making. This is his second solo release after over a decade in the music business, and it’s properly brill iant.

Growing up is always a bitch, but maybe more so for a musician who grew up playing punk rock. There's still no right or easy way to mature-- do you stick with what works, playing the music that brought you all your fans, but never getting out from under those initial successes? Or do you slow down, stretch out, and risk sounding nothing like yourself, growing away from the sound that brought in your fans in the first place? This is a conundrum Jay Reat ard's facing now, but it isn't the only one: After a successful run of singles on Matador that was compiled last year, Watch Me Fall is the first official full-length since being signed to the label. You can't blame the guy for feeling some pressure, and from the title to the lyrics and even its brooding cover, it's safe to say he might be.