Wild Nothing

Wild Nothing, the project of Virginia-based singer-songwriter Jack Tatum, harked harks back to synth-pop, dream-pop and twee-pop of the 1980s.

The polished and atmospheric songs of Gemini (Captured Track, 2010) range from the melancholy Live in Dreams to the breezy Summer Holiday, from the propulsive Confirmation to the pulsating The Witching Hour. The oneiric Drifter evokes the Cocteau Twins without the witchy female singer. Our Composition Book combines the pace of Katrina And The Waves's Walking on Sunshine and a pop melody from the Sixties. The problem is that, even at their best, the songs are mostly derivative and amateurish, rarely displaying artistic ambitions. A captivating melody finally emerges out of Chinatown, that also boasts the most creative (poly)rhythm.

Wild Nothing's Nocturne (Captured Tracks, 2012) coupled a lush sound with the revival of the most ethereal 1980s. Songs like Shadow are utterly pointless: half-baked dejavu for a nostalgic audience (or for an audience that never heard the originals). The pounding and atmospheric Paradise sounds like an unreleased Pet Shop Boys song. Nocturne is generic background dance-pop with a lengthy and pointless guitar solo.