Jack Tatum has made a career out of mining the past, but on Indigo, he’s not just nostalgic—he’s practically rewriting history with better lighting and more reverb.
“Every album’s a reaction,” he tells me, before admitting this one’s also a bit of an identity check. “I was trying to push myself on the last record, stretch my own creativity. With this one, I was reining it in. Getting back to the core ideology of what this band is.” Which is, apparently, writing songs that sound like they were found in a time capsule labeled John Hughes Soundtrack Rejects – Too Good for Production.
The standout track Canyon on Fire jumps out early with a wall of guitar and a Cure-style synth line that could make Robert Smith blush. “That and Letting Go were the first songs I wrote after the last record came out,” he explains. “I wasn’t thinking about the next record yet. I was just trying to write what felt like a quintessential Wild Nothing song.” Mission accomplished. It’s the kind of track that makes you want to wear a trench coat and look longingly out a window.
While some critics have labeled Indigo a “pop manifesto,” Tatum doesn’t disagree. “This record is a pop record, first and foremost,” he says. But we’re not talking Katy Perry pop—this is Songs from the Big Chair pop. “I was looking at people like Tears for Fears, who always wanted to write hits. I wasn’t necessarily shooting that high,” he adds, with the humility of someone who might lowkey be shooting exactly that high.
There’s a subtle tug-of-war happening between past and present here. Tatum admits he doesn’t “relate to 2018 progressive music,” adding, “I’m less excited about people doing something different just to be different.” Instead, he’s team melody. “That’s a timeless thing. You can dress that up however you like. For me, I dress it up in 80s clothes.” Shoulder pads, synths, and all.
Despite the throwback aesthetic, Indigo has a soul. A lot of that comes from the way it was recorded—live, warm, and more human than the slick, sterile productions of its influences. “We definitely went to a lot of effort to accomplish that,” Tatum says, and you can hear it. It’s retro-futurism with a heartbeat.
In other words, Wild Nothing didn’t just resurrect the ghost of 80s pop—they gave it a hug, a pulse, and a ride home.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the videos below!
