Artist Spotlight: Wild Nothing

Brooklyn based independent label Captured Tracks is currently the home to some of the most interesting and prominent bands in modern jangly, shoegazy whateverness. Wild Nothing, the brainchild of Virginian Jack Tatum is probably the most notable of these groups, amongst peers such as Beach Fossils and Craft Spells. The band's 2010 debut Gemini, recorded by only Tatum alone in his bedroom, was released to much critical acclaim, and is personally amongst my top favorite albums of the past five years. Tatum's catchy, nostalgic pop tunes such as "Summer Holiday" and "Chinatown" simply demanded to be played nonstop and stole the hearts of C86 fans everywhere. And now Tatum and company have returned with a new track from Wild Nothing's currently untitled sophomore effort, titled "Nowhere", accompanied by "Wait" as a b-side, to be officially released on vinyl on February 21. Listening to the two tracks makes it very apparent what changes the band has gone through. The leap from bedroom to studio was definitely more than enough to bring Wild Nothing to the next stage in their evolution, adopting a more twee sound, with the help of Twin Sister's Andrea Estrella. It sounds a lot like the music of Craft Spells and Beach Fossils has rubbed off a fair amount on the band, adopting similar production styles. It is still not entirely clear what Wild Nothing is going to pull off on their second album, but the follow up to Gemini is personally one of my most (if not my most) anticipated release of 2012.

Check out Wild Nothing on Facebook.