Wild Nothing: Nocturne (2012)

(Captured Tracks)

This is screensaver music, albeit deceptive. Choose a random cut -- my way in was the opener "Shadow," which I liked enough to decide this deserved a full review, which I now regret -- and prepare to be wowed by two things: first, how much you still get hit squarely in the jaw by the sound of late 1980s jangly dream pop, even when you're hearing a third- or fourth-hand imitation of same. Secondly, is this the same Jack Tatum, the same Wild Nothing who put together the ridiculous but sort of delightful Belle & Sebastian / Smashing Pumpkins imitation Gemini? The two records have strikingly little in common, which is neat except that Tatum's choice now is to walk over even more well-trodden ground.

Again, the romantically druggy sound of all this is striking. Tatum knows his way around the Smiths / Cure corner of the galaxy and has a way with chilly intoned vocals and overdriven synth atmospherics -- it all falls on the ear quite agreeably, if ineffectively. When he bursts out of the template, it's enough of a derailment that you wonder why it doesn't happen more often. "Midnight Song" boasts a British Invasion melody buried under innumerable layers, an actual hook appears amid the sludgy pop of "The Chain Won't Break," "Shadow" is catchy and breezy enough to be a lost La's cut, and even at its laziest and most plodding you can still imagine kids playing pinball on Friday night with the album playing.

This might all add up to magic for you. It quickly cops to trends rather than revealing much that's personal or unusual, and the dull sameness keeps much of it from standing out. When it does command attention, it still seems oddly restrained -- that splendid Tame Impala vocal on "The Blue Dress" is wasted on a song that sounds like something from the bottom tier of the Chocolate War soundtrack, and "Paradise" embodies some romance and vindictive sarcasm in its lyric ("crush me with the lies / and tell me once or twice that love is paradise") but never pushes the buttons of its surreal imagery like reference point Vince Clarke. And though the record isn't all that long, it seems to go on for ages -- good for backgrounding, bad for concentrating. Still, give it a listen; I'd opt for Twin Shadow for 2012 makeout music, but something tells me this will suit some in much the same way.

[SEE ALSO:]
Gemini (2010)