Goner Records has confirmed that artist Jay Reatard, longtime champion of the Memphis garage rock scene, has passed away at the age of 29. Via Goner’s website: “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public.”

Born Jimmy Lee Lindsey, Jr., Reatard’s most recent album, Watch Me Fall, was released last year on Matador Records.

Matador released the following statement: “We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.”

No further details regarding cause of death are available at this time.

UPDATE: Jay Reatard’s website has posted a download of Jay (playing all the instruments) covering Nirvana’s classic “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle.”

According to the New York Times, “police have opened an investigation into [the cause of Reatard’s] death. A spokeswoman for the Shelby County medical examiner in Tennessee said an autopsy had been performed but that a cause of death had not yet been determined.”