THE BLACK KEYS
Released May 18, 2010
BLIND FAITH
Released August 1969
THE COUP
Released October 30, 2012
WILLIAM PATRICK CORGAN
Released October 13, 2017
THE KINKS
Released November 17, 1975
WILD NOTHING
Released August 30, 2018
NEW 2018 MUSIC: For all of the people who decry the music of the 1980's (and believe me, even having lived through that decade, experiencing much of the music as a teenager, I cannot deny anyone's declarations), I still wish to emphasize that although that decade has more than enough that truly needs to be forgotten, there was still an exceeding amount of material being created that in hindsight has only increased in power due to its overall innovative and wholly original qualities.
Wild Nothing, the musical alias of Jack Tatum, who writes, produces and performs nearly all of the instrumentation, feels to be a devotee of that particular decade, especially through the artists that arrived from England via New Wave and the style of romantic synth pop that would not feel out of place in a John Hughes film. With this fourth full length release "Indigo," Wild Nothing continues the dream party with a collection of instantly ear catching songs that have magically found a certain musical soundscape that feels like all of the hazy, woozy, half-remembered songs from the long forgotten high school dances rushing back into the present and all ready to break your hearts again.
It is truly an amazing feat how Tatum inexplicably manages to craft and therefore, conjure that exact sound, tenor and feeling of this completely idiosyncratic musical period, yet he accomplishes this feat over and again through Indigo" as the melodies, chords and beats suggest and recall The Thompson Twins, Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark, early Wang Chung, and some aspects of Kate Bush and Prefab Srpout's 1980's work, all the while signifying something that is indeed new.
The album's 11 tracks, which include the terrific "Letting Go," "Partners In Motion" and "Canyon On Fire" plus "Wheel Of Misfortune," "Shallow Water" "The Closest Thing To Living" the brief instrumental "Dollhouse" all flow and intoxicate luxuriously while listening but unfortunately the songs tend to float away into the ether or like a fading dream. In essence, it feels as if Jack Tatum definitely possesses the skills and is really on the brink of breaking through into something wonderful because all of the elements are in place.
Once Tatum solidifies his songwriting even further, Wild Nothing will be able to create works for the ages. But for now, a sizable talent merged with copious whiffs of melancholic nostalgia (almost) carries the day.
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