Description
Angry Angles may be most notable for being Jay Reatard’s last collaboration before finding fame as a solo act, but this self-titled retrospective is a reminder that they had plenty of merit in their own right. With then-girlfriend Alix Brown and drummers Paul Artigues and Ryan Rousseau, Angry Angles honed their synth punk on a handful of EPs and singles before they — and Reatard’s relationship with Brown — folded in 2006. The band’s short, frenetic outbursts stand in stark contrast to the epic excursions of Reatard’s previous group, Lost Sounds. On their original songs, Angry Angles had a surprisingly wide range, spanning punk’s creepy side on “You Fell In” and “In My Room,” and its lunkheaded one on “Crowds” and “Stab You Dead.” Meanwhile, combative love songs like the standout “You Call It Love” and “You Lied” make the most out of romantic dysfunction while suggesting the clock was already ticking on Brown and Reatard’s time together. The previously unreleased songs from Montreal sessions add some polish to the band’s fury, but overall, Angry Angles is an endearingly gritty artifact; though it points the way to Blood Visions, it’s more than just a bridge between Lost Sounds and Reatard’s solo years.
