Nocturne (Wild Nothing album)
| Nocturne | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Wild Nothing | ||||||||||
| Released | August 28, 2012 | |||||||||
| Studio |
Rare Book Room (Brooklyn, New York) | |||||||||
| Genre | Indie pop, dream pop | |||||||||
| Length | 44:31 | |||||||||
| Label | Captured Tracks | |||||||||
| Producer | Nicolas Vernhes | |||||||||
| Wild Nothing chronology | ||||||||||
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Nocturne is the second studio album by American indie rock act Wild Nothing, released on August 28, 2012 on Captured Tracks.[1]
Background and recording
The success of Wild Nothing's debut allowed Jack Tatum to record in a full studio for its follow-up, a change of pace from Gemini's exclusive use of the laptop for recording. Working with producer Nicolas Vernhes, Tatum stated: “The biggest thing was just having a producer, having somebody extremely knowledgeable to work with. I mean, obviously I had a lot of nice equipment at my disposal for the first time, too ... But I never wanted to use any of that to pursue a wholly different sound to the first album; it was just nice to have somebody to bounce ideas off, to help me tweak things.” "Shadow," the first song from Nocturne to be released, features a string section, something Tatum "never" could have done without a studio environment.[2]
Despite the album's widespread critical acclaim and a Best New Music nod from Pitchfork,[3] Tatum reflected on the album's recording process in 2013, stating: "[Nocturne] felt like it took a long time for me. I took my time and it was really spread out, with months in between writing songs. There was so much thought put into that record, so much of me being a perfectionist, like, “Okay, this really has to sound a certain way.” In a lot of ways, I listen to that record now and think I thought way too hard on this. To me, it’s sort of missing something… even though I'm so proud of that record and I think a lot of the songs are good. I mean, you should like your own music, otherwise why even make it?"[4]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100 [5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The A.V. Club | B[7] |
| Drowned in Sound | 7/10[8] |
| Earbuddy | 8.9/10[9] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[10] |
| musicOMH | [11] |
| NME | 7/10[12] |
| PopMatters | [13] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.3/10[3] |
Nocturne received largely positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[14] The album was ranked the best album of the year by Under the Radar magazine,[15] while on DIY magazine's 2012 year-end list, it was number 25.[16]
Ian Cohen of Pitchfork Media gave the album a positive review, stating, "Wild Nothing is invested in the concept of wish fulfillment. This is called dream-pop for a reason, and there's no logic for what drives adults to lie out on the grass staring at the sun for hours or write songs about girls with fantastical names like "Rheya". Nocturne gives a voice to those feelings, and damn if it isn't lovely to listen to."[3]
Track listing
All tracks written by Jack Tatum.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shadow" | 4:21 |
| 2. | "Midnight Song" | 3:07 |
| 3. | "Nocturne" | 5:20 |
| 4. | "Through the Grass" | 4:30 |
| 5. | "Only Heather" | 3:16 |
| 6. | "This Chain Won't Break" | 3:40 |
| 7. | "Disappear Always" | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Paradise" | 5:33 |
| 9. | "Counting Days" | 3:54 |
| 10. | "The Blue Dress" | 3:30 |
| 11. | "Rheya" | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 44:31 | |
| iTunes bonus track[17] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Track listing | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
| 12. | "Feel You Now" | 5:00 |
Personnel
- Musicians
- Jack Tatum - vocals, guitars, bass guitar
- Michael Skattum - drums (2)
- Jeff Curtain - drums (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11)
- Ben Talmi - string arrangements and conducting (1)
- Tanner Johnson - first violin (1)
- Madeline Ripley - second violin (1)
- Sue Buzzard - viola (1)
- Kim Lonetree - cello (1)
- Recording personnel
- Nicolas Vernhes - producer, mixing, engineer
- Jack Tatum - additional production, additional mixing
- Joe Lambert - mastering
- Artwork
- Shawn Brackbill - photography
- Jack Tatum - album design
- Ryan McCardle - layout
- New York Public Library - cover photo and inserts
References
- ↑ "Wild Nothing announces new album: Nocturne « Consequence of Sound". Consequenceofsound.net. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
- ↑ Goggins, Joe. "Interview: Wild Nothing". mancunion.com. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- 1 2 3 Cohen, Ian. "Wild Nothing: Nocturne". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ↑ Lindsay, Cam. "Wild Nothing Wants You to Stop Picking on Nickelback | Vice". noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ↑ "Critic Reviews for Nocturne". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ The A.V. Club review
- ↑ Gourlay, Dom. Wild Nothing - Nocturne. Drowned In Sound. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ Noel, Jude (2012-08-28). "Wild Nothing - Nocturne Review". Earbuddy. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
- ↑ Ball, Chris (2012-08-28). "Wild Nothing - Nocturne". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
- ↑ Murphy, John. Wild Nothing - Nocturne. musicOMH 27 August 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ Wright, Lisa (2012-09-21). "NME Album Reviews - Wild Nothing – 'Nocturne'". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
- ↑ Elingburg, Scott. Wild Nothing: Nocturne. PopMatters. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ↑ "Nocturne – Wild Nothing". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
- ↑ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2012". Under the Radar. March 27, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ↑ "DIY Albums Of 2012: 30 - 21". DIY. December 5, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Nocturne by Wild Nothing". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2012.