Wild Nothing: Gemini

Label: Captured Tracks

The latest crop of hazy, likably half-engaged sounding pop records-- a good many of which have come through the Captured Tracks label that's responsible for this shimmering gem of a record --  can sound great while they're playing, but strangely hard to remember afterward. You won't have that problem with Gemini, the latest record as Wild Nothing from Virginia pop talent Jack Tatum. As Wild Nothing he wears his influences all over his sleeve, his shirtfront and his pants: indie-pop of the 80s and early 90s (Creation and Factory, sure, but just as much a Sarah label vibe), all bound together by his classic indie-mope songwriting, which he smartly pairs with winsome, crisp arrangements. So many songs for mixtape crushes and the quotidian heartache-slash-escapist-lust of your life, from the opening "Live in Dreams" (wow, that keyboard break is the living definition of glistening) and the mid-period 4AD-feyness of "Drifter" to the New Orderesque "Bored Games" and "The Witching Hour," which vaguely suggests Prefab Sprout on a gloomy trip. If all these references mean nothing to you, then just check out this album and fall in love -- promise. (M.L. Thrope)