Review Summary: I know where to find you, I know where you go
Wild Nothing’s sophomore full-length
Nocturne continues Jack Tatum’s streak of stellar performances unrivaled in dream pop, a genre who’s output is beyond inconsistent, from a horde of bands who take the standard sound and create a decent album worth listening to once or twice, to the exponentially smaller amount of bands who take dream pop and transform it into an experience that stays with the listener beyond the initial fascination and for so much longer.
Gemini, the first effort of Wild Nothing is one such album, and the following 7 inch EPs that barely satiate the appetite for more of Tatum’s wondrous music are up to par with the expectations raised by
Gemini and then some.
Jack Tatum’s work under the moniker brings out the spirit of youth through the music, illustrating the in-love teenager in all of us; the slightly depressed yet slightly joyous “butterflies-in-your-stomach” juvenile, the side of all of us that exists but is never shown because we are all too busy flexing our muscles and exerting pseudo-macho auras. Tatum says through his music what is on everybody’s mind at some point but for fear of being called a pussy or any number of emasculating insults that ultimately have no meaning, is never expressed. The overall theme here is not unlike those put forth by Robert Smith back in the 1980s, one of love and happiness but also one of love and disappointment, an album both for summer and for winter, just as
Gemini before it.
As far as the music goes, the dropped torch that is classic-era The Cure, has been completely picked up again, along with some Smiths and other various ‘80s influences. Yes, like
Gemini every single bass line will be stuck in your head at some point in the next day or for every day for the next week after listening, for that matter. Everything about Wild Nothing is catchy, let’s not forget that this is purely pop music at the core, only surrounded by perfectly placed dreamy synths, interlocking guitars, infectious drum beats, and Tatum’s distinctive hazy vocal style laced with his high pitched croon that adds yet another superb dimension to the music.
Similar to
Gemini yet with slightly more post-punk influence than the more dream pop oriented debut and subsequent EPs,
Nocturne manages to deliver a more than satisfying follow up to the near classic first LP. I would list a few choice tracks as any good reviewer should do, but that would be completely unnecessary because when we’re talking about Wild Nothing, every track is nothing short of flawless and therefore I’m just going to tell you to listen to the entire album.
