Send "Wild Nothing " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Though some of indie's brightest leading men have come through Virginia's halls of higher education (Steve Malkmus, David Berman, Travis Morrison), your average college rock band in the Old Dominion area probably sounds more like Agents of Good Roots. So if you live in a place like Blacksburg, Va., home of the Virginia Tech campus and not much else, and you want to be in a tropical punk act (Facepaint), an introspective singer-songwriter project (Jack & the Whale), or a band that covers Kate Bush instead of Dave Matthews (Wild Nothing's breakthrough rendition of "Cloudbusting"), you'll probably have to do what Jack Tatum did and start them yourself.Gemini finds Tatum constructing a striking, solitary monument to just about anyone who moped, sulked, or bedsat their way through the 1980s. His love of dreamy, fuzzy, handcrafted guitar-pop isn't far removed from the Radio Dept. or the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, but he displays a more comprehensive and widespread commitment to classic indie pop sounds. Revivalism notwithstanding, his craftsmanship is undeniable and the details are spot-on: Check the reflective bell tone in "Live in Dreams", the Cocteau Twins-like, artificial synth tom in "Drifter", and the Johnny Marr homage in the twinkly guitar fade-in that begins "Our Composition Book". While Tatum plays hopscotch with his collection of 4AD, Factory, and Slumberland records, Gemini has plenty more to offer than sonic verisimilitude. On album opener "Live in Dreams," he sings, "Our lips won't last forever and that's exactly why/ I'd rather live in dreams and I'd rather die," and the lyric plays out like Gemini in miniature: While Tatum's words can edge on maudlin, his delivery is more romantic than dreary, and there's a sly, understated, and subtly addictive melody that gorgeously frames his sentiments. And melodies like that one, which the album features in spades, are ultimately what make Gemini more than just another indie pop record, and often more than the sum of its parts. Of course, that's not to say that each of them connects instantly. Though a handful of immediate standouts reward first listens, the record's debt-to-influence ratio may initially seem to overshadow the strength of the music. However, repeat spins reveal Tatum's strikingly innate sense of songcraft, as these tracks gradually earworm their way into daily life....full text |
| Musicomh |
| Music tends to follow the general rule of thumb that if you can get three examples of something then it can be called a trend. Only in music it's called a genre, and it usually ends up slowly ruining the thing it's supposed to be defining. You get the feeling that as 'chillwave' slowly becomes shorthand for everything vaguely summery or a little bit hazy, that in amongst the shimmering keyboards and padded drums you can make out the death knell. Call it chillwave or dream pop if you like, but one thing no-one could deny is that Jack Tatum, aka Wild Nothing, has created one of the best singles of the year in the shape of the crushingly lovely Summer Holiday. Taking inspiration from those old C-86 tapes that everyone references these days, as well as a large dollop of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart's beautiful melancholia, Summer Holiday is all wistful vocals, strummed electric guitar and teenage heartbreak. It's such a perfect four minutes that it casts a shadow over the remainder of what is a good debut album. Live In Dreams and Chinatown come close to matching it, the former recalling Belle And Sebastian had they been brought up in LA, whilst the latter adds some brilliant percussion over lashings of layered backing vocals. Drifter opens with one of those dreamy, circular guitar arpeggios that litter the album but adds booming drums and doom-laden bass that sounds like a slightly more upbeat Joy Division....full text |
| Indiescreet |
| ‘Gemini’ starts off on a good note, beginning with the song ‘Live in Dreams’. It welcomes you at the door and beckons you to come in for more, and chances are you’re going to find it hard to resist. Jack Tatum tells us right away that “Our lips won’t last forever,” and that’s exactly why he wants to live in dreams. This way, if you’re living in dreams, you can’t die. This song is bursting at the seams with hovering, gorgeous sound effects. As you listen to the album you’ll pick up on all the subtle effects and sounds that are thrown into the mix, but you have to listen carefully! The following track ‘Summer Holiday’ is one that many of us have probably already heard, but in no way is that a bad thing. Up next on the album would be the totally blissed out track ‘Drifter’, with it’s heavenly sound effects and the ability to bring you to that special paradise you could only reach in your dreams. This is the type of song where you lose all train of thought while you become completely immersed in the sounds – like I said earlier, once you’re stuck in it, it’s difficult to get back out. Skipping ahead to the halfway point of the album brings us to the song ‘Bored Games’. Lots of quick and little intricate sounds dominate this song, all over top of a muffled bass line that’s sure to keep your head bobbing along to the beat. For about the last minute of the track, Tatum delivers a laid-back guitar solo as the song comes to an end and slowly fades out. Next up would be the other somewhat familiar track on the album, ‘Confirmation’. Just like the songs on the 7″ records, this track has been floating around on the web for awhile now, but it did not come on either of the 7 inches. Moving right along to another highlight from the album, ‘Chinatown’. ‘Chinatown’ is drenched in more heavenly, spaced out sound effects that are present throughout the entire song, while Tatum’s voice continues to saturate everything even more, giving this track (and most of these other tracks) a real sense of longing. Second to last on the album comes the song ‘Our Composition Book’, which is a glamorous, picture-perfect pop song complete with shimmering sound effects and some excellent guitar playing by none other than Mr. Tatum himself....full text |
Wild Nothing lyrics
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