One Track Mind

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Wild Nothing is the sort of band whose sound is both difficult to define and easy to “get”–one listen was all it took to hook this listener. Essentially a home-recording vehicle for Virginia Tech’s Jack Tatum, Wild Nothing constructs hypnagogic songs out of quietly buzzing synthesizers, homespun drum beats, and reverb cloaked vocals. While Tatum doesn’t try to recreate the rootless sonic drift of traditional shoegazer acts, he is adept at imparting an ineffable fuzziness around the edges of his work, making the dreaminess on display more of a suggestion than an outright production tool.

Following the May 25th Captured Tracks release of his debut LP, Gemini, Tatum has taken his act on the road backed by a full band, handling opening slots for The Depreciation Guild and Neon Indian. Although neither of these other acts is a perfect analog to Wild Nothing’s sound, they are certainly complementary: The Depreciation Guild’s music shares the same dream-pop roots and Neon Indian holds electronic-tinkered haziness in common.

“Chinatown,” Gemini‘s tenth track, begins amid a gentle passage of digitally delayed notes before kicking in with a proper starts. Drum sticks rattle against cymbal stands in brief interjections while a vaguely Eastern pizzicato riff hops around mid-stage. Buried lower in the mix are two distinct synthesizer tracks, the first playing a deep, distorted bass riff, the second gliding like a butterfly, tossing in its melodic two cents. Tatum’s vocals are foregrounded throughout, and with good reason; his voice is capable and low-key, if not dazzling, and works effectively within the larger sonic framework. Given the ethereal qualities of some of its instrumentation, “Chinatown” is surprisingly catchy; it taps into a sense of familiarity while clearly being part of a distinctive new sound.