Revivalism seems to suit Jack Tatum well, his stint as Wild Nothing a veritable mixtape of his musical fascinations, which seem purely bred by Manchester’s Factory’d brethren. His Wild Nothing debut, “Gemini,” attempts an appreciably Americanized translation of this era, crafting light and airy notes of thanks to the likes of Johnny Marr (Our Composition Book) and New Order (Bored Games).
Immediately, the problem with “Gemini” is that it follows a path free of impediment, Tatum’s ease of exploring established terrain a possible distraction from his actual songwriting. Songs like Drifter and Confirmation move so clearly backward in time that an act of reminiscence or response to familiarity is triggered without effort, even from songs didn’t exist thirty years ago.
From that perspective, you can accredit Tatum as a musician that knows what he’s doing and knows what he’s going for. There is genuineness to “Gemini” in that it sounds of its time, albeit to a fault.
But, “Gemini” also benefits from a general enjoyment factor, a pop sound that fulfills its requirement of sounding “agreeable” while maintaining its necessary indie cred. Once Live In Dreams fades in, it is one pleasantry after another: lovely melodies and atmosphere thick with vocal harmony and layered guitars.
Summer Holiday is hard not to like, an up tempo shoegazer that appropriately couples hints of six-string atonality with a lushness of mood. It’s the type of song that can make you involuntarily smile. It just sort of makes you feel good.
With Pessimist, Tatum moves off the page a little bit and experiments, though not to any extreme that disrupts the album’s cohesion. An organ and mild pulsation its selected devices, with a minor passage of bell play in between, Pessimist is notable but interlude-worthy, similar to Of Montreal’s Sink The Seine from “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” It provides pause from the indie pop until O, Lilac, which is synth pop for folk fans.
Tatum also gets inventive with The Witching Hour; high-timber strings follow the vocal above guitar-oriented fluttering in the background, meshing persistent yammer with careful phrasing. The effect is interestingly understated despite how crowded it should sound.
“Gemini” is something you’ve heard already, an unfair assessment being that all art is inspired by what came before. But, on the surface, Tatum’s homage seems more than just homage and that, unfortunately, is what’s going to keep “Gemini” from being as great as it could be. Having said that, “Gemini” is also beautifully crafted and smartly aware. Looking deeper into Tatum’s marriage with nostalgia, Wild Nothing could be more than the byproduct of fandom. It could be the wish for a better mainstream.