The late, great Jay Reatard was a prolific master of rock n roll gems. Whether it be with his earlier budget-punk act of his namesake, Reatards, his synth-punk projects Lost Sounds and Angry Angles, or his solo material as Jay Reatard, Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr. was an incredible songwriter. Those aforementioned bands are just a smattering of units he’s been associated with, but it’s his solo vehicle that gained the largest audience with albums like Blood Visions and compilations such as Matador Singles ‘08. It’s no surprise that someone finally did a Jay Reatard tribute compilation and that someone is Alberta, Canada’s Sonic Church Records. There Is No Sun – A Tribute To Jay Reatard, showcases 12 bands delivering their takes on a variety of Jay’s songs. Those bands include Night Court, Craven Cowards, Brain Bent, Bat Leather, X Of Swords, Faulty Cognitions, Saps, Salt Horse, Church Of Telepathy, Chain Shot, Cringe Fantasy and The Dumpies. From well-known Jay tracks to some that might not be as obvious, there’s something for every kind of Jay Reatard fan on the comp. All tracks are executed with fevered reverence to Jay and the bands still sound like themselves in the process. Several bands on the comp were new to me and I’ve been able to check out more of their music because this comp led me to them. For the bands I was already familiar with, their tracks were unexpected surprises adding to their arsenal of ace tunes. There Is No Sun – A Tribute To Jay Reatard is a win-win-win; for Sonic Church, the bands and Jay Reatard afficianados the world over. The cassette version is already long sold out, but you can still grab the digital version from the Sonic Church bandcamp.
