Time to Dream

You’ll find a clearer, more professionalized, studio quality sound on indie dream pop Wild Nothing’s second full-length Nocturne in comparison to the well-received Gemini. And there really isn’t a terrible song anywhere on this album, but that isn’t surprising coming from singer/songwriter Jack Tatum, who seems a bit more wise to it all nowadays.

Nocturne starts out soothingly with “Shadow,” not too fast, not too slow, and with a great blend of 80’s pop and indie rock. Follow-up song “Midnight Song” contains a similar mixture and fairs well up against that first and one of the best tracks on the album.

There are, of course, songs to fulfill the ears of strict dream pop fans. “Paradise,” one of the album’s singles, features a booming drumbeat and a breakdown containing all types of sounds (did I hear a bird?). The lyrics are likely to please dream pop heads too, “Dancer in the night / Playing with my eyes / Velvet tongue so sweet / Say anything you like.” “Rheya” is another dreamy hit with few lyrics and lots of echo.

Wild Nothing has only been a band for a couple of years. Tatum hopefully still has plenty of experimenting and creating to do before he calls it quits. While Nocturne is a perfectly acceptable album, many are still probably holding out for that A+ album to be released from the band. But Nocturne is one that you really should skip reading the reviews about and just listen to it yourself.