Reatard was one of the most truly brilliant songwriters of the 00s, spitting out impossibly fun, noisy garage-pop punk rock songs by the dozens. 17 songs from the 06-07 collection are joined by these 13 to bring the 3-year total to 30, with a couple albums along the way. Dude was prolific. And the quality rate is just impossible. Alongside Ty Segall and John Dwyer, Reatard is on the Mount Rushmore of garage rock revival perfection.
This collection isn't quite as exhilarating front-to-back as 06-07, dragged down by his cover of Fluorescent Grey, the longest, slowest song on the album, thunked down square in the middle. But what an opening. See Saw and Screaming Hand are two of the best pop punk songs of the decade, full stop, delightfully bratty and brash, jammed with hooks and ramshackle charm, each frosted by third-verse touches that drive endless one-more-play cycles. The synth boops on Screaming Hand. Holy fucking shit.
Those peaks are never reached again, and that frontload, again, busts up the album experience. But its still an endlessly listenable collection, crammed with more ideas and details than bands' entire careers 4.5/5
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment