Review: Reatards – Grown Up, Fucked Up

Reatards
Grown Up, Fucked Up

Goner Records
Street: 08.21
Reatards = the Oblivians + The Rip Offs + The Wongs

God bless Goner Records for releasing this. If you’re like me, the scuzzy rock that was Jay Reatard’s record Teenage Hate slapped you right across the face when it came out. Within a few months the Reatards were the center of almost every music discussion I had. This record, Grown Up, Fucked Up, was recorded about a year later by an 18 year-old Jay Reatard and his band. At this point the music was a little harder and considerably meaner. The fuzzy guitar is loud and driven. The vocals skirt the line between howls and screams while remaining completely listenable. Tracks like “Blew My Mind” and “Sick When I See” document the anger and frustration of being dealt a bad hand in life but roughing your way through it. The music is urgent, full of real heart and sensitivity and completely fucking brutal—all the trappings of a masterpiece. –James Bennett