Source: Artwork
Jack Tatum on the cover of Wild Nothing’s third album, Life of Pause, sitting alone in a romantic sitting room setting, staring at apparently nothing. Is this meant to reflect the recording process? Tatum records and writes albums alone, for legions of well-read romantics yearning for a hit of nostalgic dream-pop to play in solitude. With Life of Pause Tatum promised a less mechanical feel to this record than the previous Nocturne, but does he deliver?
From the get-go, ‘Reichpop‘ feels far less melancholic than Wild Nothing’s previous work. The bass lines bounce along a sea of bubbly synths reminiscent of Bombay Bicycle Club’s ‘Luna’, but without the spark. ‘Lady Blue‘ is breezy, with a very moreish melodic chorus, but it isn’t long before the album drowns in its own genre. Dream-pop is the word, and Tatum has a more than obvious love for the 80s. Their basic DNA comes directly from a 1987 TV montage, name-checking of Japan as the mecca of futurism; ‘Japanese Alice‘ (Life of Pause’s standout moment) is a track that is very much for fans of the tragically seldom mentioned, Lloyd Cole and The Commotions. ‘TV Queen‘ and ‘To Know You’ (previous singles) threaten greatness, the latter bass-driven and a wash with synthetic alarm sounds (borrowed from Erasure’s ‘Chorus‘) stands out from the monochromatic album tracks but lacks a genuine chorus.
The echo-delayed guitars and dreamy vocals do tend to take their toll. After a while how much dream-pop can one listen to before realising you are in a never ending 80’s themed nightmare? Like Beach House and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wild Nothing create pleasant music electro-pop but are still waiting for that moment to make themselves a band that really matters. Music without risks can become stale. So what do you think Tatum? A collaboration with maybe Shaggy or Andrew WK? Or maybe it’s just all about being pleasant sitting alone in your room.
