Collecting the six limited edition seven-inch singles released by Memphis lo-fi savant Jay Reatard in 2008--with a cover of Deerhunter's "Fluorescent Grey" and a new original thrown in for good measure--MATADOR SINGLES '08 may well be the best rock album released in 2008. Kicking off with the sublime pop-punk of "See/Saw", SINGLES '08 picks up where predecessor SINGLES 06-07 left off--with a series of driving, impossibly hooky songs that build upon the poppier side of '70s British punk. As did the Buzzcocks on their seminal SINGLES GOING STEADY (an obvious point of reference), Reatard slows down and stretches out on the second side, shrewdly exchanging his trademark raw power for something deeper and, on the closing track, "I'm Watching You"--a post-millennial reimagining of the Police's "Every Breath You Take"--something more disturbing.

• Clash (magazine) (p.123) - "Reatard seems wholly at home in his giddily twisted world....As a primer for what's next it'll do quite nicely."

Collecting the six limited edition seven-inch singles released by Memphis lo-fi savant Jay Reatard in 2008--with a cover of Deerhunter's "Fluorescent Grey" and a new original thrown in for good measure--MATADOR SINGLES '08 may well be the best rock album released in 2008. Kicking off with the sublime pop-punk of "See/Saw," SINGLES '08 picks up where predecessor SINGLES 06-07 left off--with a series of driving, impossibly hooky songs that build upon the poppier side of '70s British punk. As did the Buzzcocks on their seminal SINGLES GOING STEADY (an obvious point of reference), Reatard slows down and stretches out on the second side, shrewdly exchanging his trademark raw power for something deeper and, on the closing track, "I'm Watching You"--a post-millennial reimagining of the Police's "Every Breath You Take"--something more disturbing.

Memphis punk prodigy Jay Reatard formed his band the Reatards at the tender of age of 15 and quickly became a legend in his home town. He went on to form the synth punk band Lost Sounds a few years later and indulged his interest in lo-tech mayhem even further with Terror Visions. However, it was with his 2006 solo masterpiece, BLOOD VISIONS, that Reatard made his name. The album was a brisk, tightly wound explosion of punk, pop, noise, and new wave that marked the unhinged rocker as an expert songwriter, musician, and producer. Reatard continues to play in a variety of side projects and releases music at a shocking clip--2008 alone saw the release of two singles collections totalling over 30 tracks.