Singer and instrumentalist
Jack Tatum has carved out a distinctive niche in the pop landscape with his band
Wild Nothing, crafting atmospheric anthems steeped in '80s new wave and dream pop aesthetics. He further conjures an evocative '80s vibe on 2023's
Hold. Interestingly, while
Hold is the first album
Tatum has produced on his own since his 2010 debut and largely finds him playing many of the instruments himself (along with a small group of musicians), it's one of his most lush and pristine-sounding albums. Here, he frames his resonant croon with sparkling keyboards, crisp electric guitars, and exotic, acid house-sounding drum grooves. It's a musical vibe that brings to mind a kind of cross-genre blend of pop, dance, and soul redolent of the late '80s and early '90s. Cuts like the opening "Headlights On" (a collaboration with Australian singer/songwriter
Hatchie), "The Bodybuilder," and the club-ready "Suburban Solutions" are immediately hooky cuts that wouldn't sound out of place on a soundtrack to a
John Hughes film, and bring to mind classic albums by artists like
New Order,
Sade, and even
Black Tie White Noise-era
David Bowie. There's also
the Cure-esque dance-rock of "Dial Tone" and the
Peter Gabriel-style adult contemporary drama of "Pulling Down the Moon (Before You)." All of this is deeply romantic and begs for repeat spins. What's so impressive about
Tatum's work as
Wild Nothing is how he is able to make these vintage-inspired sounds all his own. With
Hold, he has crafted an album of shimmering sophisti-pop magic that sounds like a lost gem from the late '80s. ~ Matt Collar
