Nearly two years after the release of the synth-drenched, New-Order-on-Quaaludes Gemini, Wild Nothing figurehead Jack Tatum follows up his excellent debut LP with “Nowhere,” a new single that signals a possible stylistic shift for the Virginia mope-meister. Don’t worry, the canny dream-pop songcraft is still in evidence and Tatum still sounds appealingly half-asleep. This time around, however, he’s decided to shelve the synthesizers and opts instead for an earthier, warmer accompaniment verging on the down-home.
But too much discussion of Tatum’s seeming instrumental change of heart belies the fact that this is probably the best Wild Nothing track ever released. There’s a new confidence here in both songwriting and execution. The vocals, now less drenched in echo, are more direct and of a deeper timbre. That new approach combined with the spare, halting verses and lush, breezy refrains strongly recall ’80s geniuses The Go-Betweens. Notice the slide guitar swipes and the way the (what sounds like a) harmonium frames each line of the verses with a lingering two-chord phrase. It makes you suspect Tatum’s been spinning Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express on repeat for the last 18 months. It’s all so dry and straight-forward that when echo-washed guest vocalist Andrea Estella (Twin Sister) swoops in like a ghostly apparition it makes for a jarring, though welcome, contrast.
“Nowhere,” backed with “Wait,” will be available for download and on vinyl 7″ February 21, via Captured Tracks.