I Wanna Be More Than Close
“You’ve been so many different
kinds of people in my mind”
2020 has been a rough year for a lot of reasons, but the world being on quarantine is hitting me a little harder right now. I was supposed to see Wild Nothing and Beach Fossils play tonight at my favorite outdoor venue in Austin, Mohawk. This “hardship“ is relatively small in the grand scheme of things, but going to concerts is the best avenue for me to get away from it all. There are few things in the world that take me to far away places, mentally and emotionally, like live music.
Seeing Wild Nothing live for the first time is the kind of distraction that sounds phenomenal right now. The fact that this co-headlining gig was to celebrate 10 years since the release of their respective debut albums is just salt in the wounds for me.
Gemini was Wild Nothing’s inaugural record, but I admittedly didn’t catch on to their dreamy synth-pop until their 2012 follow-up, Nocturne. That album hit right as my love for 80’s music pivoted into the world of indie synth. Beyond the music itself, there’s just something soothing about Jack Tatum’s voice for me.
Tatum writes, composes, and records all of the music himself, but he does have a band that tours with him for their live shows. Four albums and four EPs later, his sound has evolved and become more polished, while staying comfortably familiar.
Nothing Jack Tatum produces is overbearing or in your face, so Wild Nothing puts your spirits at the ideal level of “yeah, I’m good right now“. Even his “bangers“ have more of a tendency to chill me out. The closest comparison I can come up with is equal parts Real Estate and Foals, with a splash of The Cure.
Seeing other musicians interpret Tatum’s combination of these sounds in a live setting is something I’ll continue to look forward to. Luckily, the show was rescheduled for December rather than being cancelled completely. I’ve already waited eight years, so what’s another seven months?
-Josh
“Rheya,“ from Nocturne, began my love affair with Wild Nothing
”Partners in Motion” (Live on KEXP) from 2018’s stellar release Indigo
#saxamaphone
”Foyer” from the 2020 EP Laughing Gas
