Jack Tatum arrived with his project Wild Nothing in the late 2000s/early 2010’s on Brooklyn’s Captured Tracks label. Wild Nothing’s debut Gemini was lo fi dream pop; intimate songs, hushed bedroom production, and pop music that feels both familiar and singular at the same time.
With each release to follow Tatum opened the sound and production of Wild Nothing into lusher music avenues; guitars, bass, keys, drums, and Tatum’s vocals built a kind of grandeur in musical escapism. The bedroom production opened to something far bigger without losing it’s intimacy.
Wild Nothing’s latest, Hold, was written during the pandemic as well as at a time when Tatum and his wife became parents for the first time. It was an overwhelming moment with an overwhelming amount of emotions to deal with. Hold, despite its origins in mental and emotional upheaval, comes across as a glorious synth pop record. An album to dance to, not mope to.
Wild Nothing, along with fellow Captured Tracks alumni Beach Fossils, celebrate 80s pop music. Big artists making art, not commerce. Beach Fossils dabbled more in post-punk and indie soul vibes, while Tatum kept Wild Nothing firmly in lush dream pop territory. Albums like Nocturne, Life of Pause, and Indigo captured the magic of artists like Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Talk Talk to great effect. Never aping the sound, but following in their footsteps and keeping to their big yet bold spirit.
Album opener “Headlights On(featuring Hatchie)” is a dance floor banger, bringing to mind Was(Not Was), Fine Young Cannibals, and The Style Council. It’s a song that hides its existential crisis under big grooves and ear worm melodies. “Basement El Dorado” keeps those grooves going, hiding an ever bit of menace just under the surface. A wonky synth line gives you just a hint of gloom, but not enough to dissuade dance floor excursions. “The Bodybuilder” is the perfect balance of shimmering ballad and contemplative art. A piano-led pop song of the highest order.
Jack Tatum has perfected his songwriting and mood-building on Hold. From the pop escapism of “Suburban Solutions” to the grandiose production of “Histrion” to the Peter Gabriel-esque closer “Pulling Down the Moon(For You)”, Hold engages, envelopes, and locks eyes and ears with the listener.
Wild Nothing continues to evolve and expand on what came before. Hold is a striking, thoughtful, and all-encompassing album.
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