Jay Reatard is having a pretty good year, and it's only January. He's doing a deal with Matador Records to release six singles in 2008, which will also lead to a CD/LP release that compiles each of the limited edition singles. On top of that, after making the rounds at SXSW, he will head out on a 15-date tour with the Black Keys. I have been listening through his single releases from the past couple of years and I didn't know that a simple formula like this could still be so damn good. The guy is like a hit machine.

His garage/punk sound "expertly mixes aggression and melody, in which jagged time slips from comfort to nightmare, all in pop song format", according to SXSW. It only took one listen to his solo debut for me to realize that this guy, who has been making records since he was 15, has definitely got this whole music thing figured out. The main draw for me is that it has a sense of immediacy and honesty that you don't seem to hear much of these days. Whatever it is, he just needs to keep on doing it.

As far as I can tell, each of the 7'' singles that the following mp3s came from are sold out and hard to find. You can purchase Blood Visions of course, and I'll post an update when the first Matador single is available. Listen up, and do exactly what the picture says.

• Jay Reatard - "In The Dark" (Squoodge)
  
• Jay Reatard - "It's So Useless" (Goner)
• Jay Reatard - "Let It All Go" (P. Trash)
• Jay Reatard - "I Know a Place" (Goner)
  
• Jay Reatard - "Night of Broken Glass" (In The Red)