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In 2001 LOST SOUNDS released their sophomore double album, following up Memphis is dead with a maturing sound that encapsulates the bands efforts to create a record that touched on many genres including Black Metal & New Wave (hence the album title). JAY REATARD, ALICJA TROUT, RICH CROOK, and JONAS GARLAND created what is commonly known as one of the most important synthpunk records in the 2000s. After many years of Black Wave being out of print, and the always fantastic Empty Records called it quits, we began discussions to reissue this release. Remastered by DAVE ECK at Lucky Lacquers. Housed with reworked and additional art in gatefold jackets and pressed on 180-gram vinyl in an edition of 500 copies.
Our take: This notable part of Jay Reatard's discography is now back in print thanks to FDH Records (the label who released it back in 2001, Empty Records, ceased operations some time ago). Lost Sounds is Jay Reatard’s third most famous project (after his solo work and the Reatards), and with the band receiving a lot of his creative energy through a big chunk of the early 00s, the project is an essential piece of the puzzle for anyone hoping to understand his music. If you’re a fan of Jay’s other work, there are several songs here that will do it for you: “Plastic Skin,” “Do You Wanna Kill Me,” and “Dark Shadows” (among others) are all great tracks that, while not achieving the heights of Blood Visions, are great punk songs. Lost Sounds is best appreciated, however, not as a prequel to Jay Reatard’s solo work, but as their own thing. Not only are the other players’ contributions substantial (particularly Alicja Trout), but also Lost Sounds had a particular framework they were working in, combining synth bleeps and bloops (long before you saw a Moog or a Korg at every basement show) with garage-punk hooks, stadium rock dynamics, and a bit of black metal vibe. Critics tend to overstate the black metal thing, but it comes out strong on “I See Everything,” and it’s a sound that I wish the band had played with more. Black Wave is an ambitious double album with a lot of material on it, and while it’s probably only the super fans who will love every second, there’s a ton of great material here.