WILD NOTHING at Lee’s Palace (529 Bloor West), Saturday (June 18), 11 pm at the Garrison (1197 Dundas West), Sunday (June 19), 11 pm. Both $15 or wristband/pass. nxne.com. See listing.
Like many bedroom artists, Jack Tatum has been forced to adapt. He crafted Wild Nothing’s 2010 debut, Gemini, alone on his laptop, an approach that no longer cuts it.
“The album was very much a home experiment,” he says over the phone from his apartment in Savannah, Georgia. “I was just filling the songs with as many tracks as I wanted without any expectations about what it could turn into.”
Gemini reflects the intimate setting and recreates the hushed, wistful UK indie pop of the 80s with surprising faithfulness. But since “hushed” and “wistful” rarely work as well in concert as on headphones, Tatum let the live show find its own sound.
“We’re true to the intentions of the songs, but it’s not four of me up there. There are [members playing] live drums and real instruments, which gives it a different energy.”
He’ll also implement those things on his sophomore album, which will get made in a New York City recording studio.
“Recording is about having a sound in your head and trying to get it out. Being in a studio gives me more ways to do that.”
