Part of Aug 2012 by

Wild Nothing Does More Than Just Gaze at Shoes

Virginia native Jack Tatum first began home-recording songs under the moniker Wild Nothing during the summer of 2009. Quickly joining the ranks of other C-86 scene and Creation Records throwback bands such as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Tatum recruited Jeff Haley (bass), Nathan Goodman (guitar) and Max Brooks (drums) to flesh out the band for touring purposes.

Wild Nothing’s debut LP, Gemini (Captured Tracks), was released in May 2010 to an effervescent swirling of critical buzz. Upon first listen, Tatum’s brand of blissed-out shoegaze had me hooked and Gemini instantly became one of my favorite albums of 2010. While his peers merely replicate the classic C-86 and Creation Records  sounds, Tatum developed an album’s worth of songs that shimmer with unique freshness; nonetheless, Gemini definitely exists as an homage to the music Tatum so clearly loves.

Wild Nothing’s follow-up to Gemini, Nocturne is one of my most anticipated albums of 2012. Nocturne is due out on August 28, but you can stream all 11 tracks for free via Captured Tracks’ Soundcloud page. Nocturne is not as firmly rooted in the classic British retroness of its predecessor, but it does use that sound as a foundation to build upon. If anything, Nocturne is a bit more danceable than Gemini.

On Wednesday, August 29 — the day after the official release of Nocturne — Wild Nothing will be performing at the Red 7 in Austin. From what I have heard, their live performances are just as fantastic as their recordings…

Check out “Live in Dreams”, the opening track of Gemini.

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