Life Of Purpose

With two fantastic albums already released, this latest effort by Jack Tatum's Wild Nothing signals that not only has he maintained his ability to create great music, he's progressed tremendously, both lyrically and musically. Life of Pause is an early contender for the best album of 2016, and its ability to offer both silky smooth moments and then transition seamlessly into groovier moments (sometimes within the same track), makes for a dynamic album. Let's go track-by-track: 1. "Reichpop" - This is the best song on the album, and currently my favorite track of 2016. Perfectly crafted build-up which transitions into a burst of lush instrumentation and well layered vocals. A fantastic way to open an album. 5/5 2. "Lady Blue" - This is a super smooth track with an outro that keeps the listener coming back for more. The transition that happens from 3:08-3:36 is top notch, and the final minute and a half finds itself among the best moments on the album. 5/5 3. "A Woman's Wisdom" - This is one of those tracks that balances smooth vocals and a groovy bassline/lead guitar combo to perfection. Great lyrics on this one as well. It also features a dreamy outro which stands in stark contrast to the next track. 5/5 4. "Japanese Alice" - Quite the shocker of an intro. I was not expecting anything so heavy on my first listen. I really enjoy the layered lyrics on this one. This track really reminds me of something you'd find among Morrissey's solo discography, especially the fantastic outro (a theme, no?). 4/5 5. "Life of Pause" - 2nd best track on the album. The vocal melodies on this one are on point, and the lyrics may be the album's best. The second verse's reference to the album title is masterful. A top-shelf track. 5/5 6. "Alien" - This is a great song. It definitely has a darker vibe compared to the rest of the album (think "Fall From Grace" on Future Islands's Singles), but it doesn't fell out of place following "Life of Pause". The song structure is also shaken up a bit, so as not to feel repetitive which works well in this track's favor. 4.5/5 7. "To Know You" - This is a fine song. Conjures up a sound eerily similar to Talk Talk's "It's My Life", but Tatum said in an AMA that it was unintentional, and I believe him. Not sure if this track needed to be nearly 6 minutes, but I don't ever feel the need to skip it. The bassline on this one is stellar. 4/5 8. "Adore" - This track features some great lyrical work. The acoustic guitar was also a great choice. Tatum said the album cover was meant to evoke a feeling of a certain space the album occupied, and this track evokes a scene not only with its lyrics, but its instruments and progression. This song almost has a psychedelic vibe to it, which helps it greatly stick out from being just another album track. 4/5 9. "TV Queen" - This is a great one, probably 3rd best on the album. Tatum delivers another killer bassline coupled nicely with a string arrangement intro. The vocal work (doubled up) is also a major highlight. This one is sure to get stuck in your head. 5/5 10. "Whenever I" - Tatum claims this is his favorite on the album, and who could blame him. Another track that features a smooth verse-groovy chorus combo. Also some hints of David Bowie on this one musically during the intro and outro. 5/5 11. "Love Underneath My Thumb" - Probably my least favorite on the album, but I don't dislike it a bit. The intro comes right out of the 90s (Smashing Pumpkins-esque). This, like "To Know You", has a runtime of 6 minutes, which feels a but excessive, but I don't want to diminish what Tatum did on this record by being overly critical of the last track. I just wish the album went out on more of a high note. 3.5/5

My favorite new full length album of 2016. Wild Nothing (mainly Jack Tatum) have created an incredible album that does not disappoint. It is gorgeous. The guys are incredibly friendly and humble in person, as well! Cheers!

Very nice music.

great record

Wild Nothing's album, Nocturne, is such a great album that it seems like any other will pale in comparison. I state that because the cards were stacked against Life of Pause with the first listen. Initially, I wanted more of Nocturne. The first two listens of LIfe of Pause were enjoyable, but as I listened to the album more, I realized that it's a truly wonderful album. It's not Nocturne, and it doesn't need to be. The title track is one of the best on the album and captures the intersection between sounds that are reminiscent of the 80s and those that are more contemporary perfectly. Moving onto the second side (of the vinyl) the quality is sustained. "To Know You" drives into the second side seamlessly. This is an album that took me a bit of time to fall in love with, but it's well worth it.

Overall a spring release that will likely manufacture many a summer jam. Not as good as the last album.

Indie pop with dreamy synth. A good effort and nice follow up to Nocturne.

Life Of Pause shows that Wild Nothing mastermind Jack Tatum continues to be extremely adept at conjuring gorgeously rich, dreamy, engaging melodies. But what separates Life Of Pause from his prior full length, the 80s/new wave obsessed Nocturne, is a newfound preoccupation with the 1970s. Tatum said when making this album he was listening to a lot of Philly soul, but songs like "A Woman's Wisdom," "Alien," "Adore," "Whenever I," and the title track actually sound akin to Todd Rundgren's 70s melodic pop (think "I Saw The Light" or "We Gotta Get You A Woman") crossed with a little Duke/Abacab-era Genesis, and maybe Mirage-era Fleetwood Mac. The dense production is still dreamily lush and 80s sounding, but the synths coloring these tracks recall late 70s/early 80s AOR, as opposed to Factory-era The Wake. (What gives this album's 70s fetish away, of course, is the cover art featuring Tatum lounging in an uber stylish 1970s-style bachelor pad). But for those craving more excursions into 80s new wave/post punk, Tatum's got that covered too. Opener "Reichpop" calls to mind Peter Gabriel's "No Self Control" with its marimba-heavy arrangement. The melodic "TV Queen" would have sounded right at home on Nocturne, while "To Know You" is built around a driving, Stockholm Monsters-esque bass line with synths lifted from Gary Numan and a vocal melody reminiscent of Talk Talk's "It's My Life." "Japanese Alice" sticks out as one of the album's few rockers, sounding like a bizarre marriage of Buzzcocks and Let's Active. The only problem for me, however, is Tatum's singing. I harped on this in my Nocturne review, and it's still an issue. While Tatum's voice is not bad, per se, to me it's rather characterless and nondescript, and he often sounds like a barely pubescent boy. His lyrics aren't exactly going to set the world alight either. His music cries out for vocals with much more of an impassioned edge. I'd love to hear someone like Cathal Couglan, Matt Johnson, Paddy McAloon, or Tracey Thorn give Tatum's music the distinctive voice it desperately needs. In a perfect world, Tatum would do the composing/arranging for someone with a better voice. Or, maybe he should take up smoking? But that's just my opinion; I'm sure many people think Tatum's twee voice is dandy. Otherwise, Life Of Pause is a thoroughly engaging and mesmerizing listen. Few bands working today write melodies this beautiful and gripping, which is a shame. Tatum reaches back to a time when rich, harmonic melodies were much more valued and prevalent, and I wish more artists today would follow his lead.

Kennt zufällig jemand "Ultra Vivid Scene"? Das war eine One-Man-Show beim 4AD-Label und eine Randerscheinung des Indie-Pop Anfang der 1990er, der größerer Erfolg leider versagt blieb. Keine Ahnung, ob Wild Nothing a.k.a. Jack Tatum UVS kannte und während der Arbeit an "Life of Pause" im Ohr hatte, aber seine schönen Pop-Melodien, die saubere, knackig-transparente Produktion und vor allem der Gesang zitieren eine ganze Menge davon – und das ist als Kompliment gemeint. Vielleicht ist die Zeit nun reif für solch zeitlose Pop-Perlen. Zu wünschen wäre es Wild Nothing allemal, und spätestens mit diesem Album.

Como en la descripción del artículo viene, esta es la edición con portada lenticular y vinil color blanco. Es increíblemente bonita la edición cuando está en tus manos, ya que el efecto lenticular se percibe al 100% cuando lo miras con tus ojos y sientes que la portada tiene profundidad (la cámara no le hace justicia pues solo se nota que se mueve un poco). Me recordó a la portada de ‘Nocturne’ que físicamente tiene el marco cuadrado recortado para mirar el arte (similar a la de ‘Indigo’ también). En este caso es una ilusión óptica en la que el ‘marco’ es la entrada que rodea la portada y percibes esa profundidad. El jacket es formato gatefold, con su hypesticker e incluye un insert sleeve con las letras de las canciones (se agradece bastante) y los créditos de cada canción. El vinil es color blanco, con un muy buen sonido, un poco de surface noise entre canciones y al terminar de cada lado (suena más fuerte) pero ningún pop fuerte ni nada que moleste escuchar las canciones. También incluye una tarjeta para la descarga del álbum desde Bandcamp, por lo que ofrece la oportunidad de descargarlo en formatos Loseless. NOTA: este artículo aparece de vez en cuando con otras fotos de una playera y en otra categoría que no corresponde a la de música (en Amazon US incluso tiene el título del álbum como ‘Life of Purpose’, pero sí envían el álbum correctamente). Tardó 3 meses en que por fin lo enviaran, ya que desde que lo pedí lo cancelaron a los 2 meses. Si un pedido mantiene el status como ‘Pendiente de envío‘, a los dos meses lo cancelan. Lo volví a pedir a finales de octubre y apenas un mes después lo he recibido. Al parecer hay stock muy limitado.