Jay Reatard

The garage scene in Memphis has long valued substance over style, kicking out artists in the orbit of the Oblivions that were more melodic and less postured compared to their scrappy proxies on the national scene. Jay Reatard's collected singles -- originally issued by Matador in increasingly limited 7-inch vinyl -- wears this tradition with a skuzzy arrogance, slapping together '50s pop with the tinny snarl of '70s punk. From soup to nuts, this is a basement rock 'n' roll rager, with particularly memorable moments in "Painted Shut," "Hiding Hole" and "An Ugly Death." This version contains live cuts from Jay's performance at Rhapsody Rocks NYC.