In May, Wild Nothing, aka Jack Tatum, performed a farewell show in Blacksburg, VA, on the eve of his graduation from Virginia Tech. For many local music fans, it was a bittersweet event. Their period of nearly exclusive access to Wild Nothing was coming to an end. At the same time, there was excitement for Tatum as he heads off to bigger things. With the May 25 release of Wild Nothing’s debut album Gemini, it is clear that for him, the sky’s the limit.
On Gemini, Wild Nothing joins the ranks of other lo-fi, dream pop groups like Real Estate, Fluffy Lumbers and label mates Beach Fossils. Gemini is a summery album. It’s carefree and washed with syrupy melodies, catchy hooks and breezy synths while guitar strums endlessly wash over you like waves in the ocean. Songs that have been making the rounds for months, like “Confirmation” and “Summer Holiday” are foot-tapping standouts. Meanwhile “Bored Games” and “The Witching Hour” fit nicely as they trade the soft guitar for punchier synths. Neither would be mistaken for dance songs, but the variety they add is key.
There’s still a melancholic tint to Gemini. Tatum’s hazy vocals remain subdued as they shift between soft wails and whines over backing vocals that sound almost ghost-like. There’s something nostalgic about these sweet dreamy pop songs. Tatum’s voice and guitar transport you to a simpler time and make you regret taking it for granted. On album opener “Live In Dreams,” he sings, “Our lips won’t last forever.” The good times don’t last forever either, but luckily we can look back on them fondly because, as Tatum reminds later in the song “We’ve got eyes on the back of our heads.”
Gemini succeeds because it blends the melancholic with the joyful. There’s a subtle turn towards the end of the album, especially on “Our Composition Book,” that shows that Wild Nothing understands what nostalgia is. He knows that one day, you’ll look back on this time fondly as well. Gemini is an album to play during a summer’s last visit to the beach, when it’s too cold to go in the water but there remain traces of a sand castle from the eighty-five degree days and blue skies of June.
Gemini is out now on Captured Tracks. Wild Nothing is kicking off a tour on June 9 that includes dates with Neon Indian.
Wild Nothing - Chinatown by LukeSlater
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