Nocturne (Wild Nothing album)

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Nocturne
Studio album by
Wild Nothing
ReleasedAugust 28, 2012
StudioRare Book Room
(Brooklyn, New York)
Genre
Length44:31
LabelCaptured Tracks
ProducerNicolas Vernhes
Wild Nothing chronology
Golden Haze
(2010) 		Nocturne
(2012) 		Empty Estate
(2013)
Cover variations
The vinyl edition's six interchangeable inserts

Nocturne is the second studio album by American indie rock band Wild Nothing, released on August 28, 2012, by Captured Tracks.[1]

Background and recording[edit]

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[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [6]
The A.V. ClubB[7]
Drowned in Sound7/10[8]
Earbuddy8.9/10[9]
Exclaim!7/10[10]
musicOMH[11]
NME7/10[12]
PopMatters[13]
Pitchfork8.3/10[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 listed at No. 25.[16]

Ian Cohen of Pitchfork 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]

Legacy[edit]

Experimental music project Safety Scissor Death Squad sampled "Only Heather" for their song "6" from their 2018 EP Vice Lord, Part Two: Scenes. Vol 1, which later appeared on their album vice lord, part two.[17]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Jack Tatum

No.TitleLength
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[18]
No.TitleLength
12."Feel You Now"5:00

Personnel[edit]

Musicians
  • Jack Tatum – vocals, guitars, bass guitar
  • Michael Skattum – drums (2)
  • Jeff Curtin – 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[edit]

  1. ^ "Wild Nothing announces new album: Nocturne « Consequence of Sound". consequence.net. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  2. ^ Goggins, Joe (29 April 2013). "Interview: Wild Nothing". mancunion.com. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Cohen, Ian. "Wild Nothing: Nocturne". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  4. ^ Lindsay, Cam (15 May 2013). "Wild Nothing Wants You to Stop Picking on Nickelback | Vice". noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Critic Reviews for Nocturne". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  6. ^ Allmusic review
  7. ^ The A.V. Club review
  8. ^ Gourlay, Dom. Wild Nothing - Nocturne Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned In Sound. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  9. ^ Noel, Jude (28 August 2012). "Wild Nothing - Nocturne Review". Earbuddy. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  10. ^ Ball, Chris (28 August 2012). "Wild Nothing - Nocturne". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  11. ^ Murphy, John. Wild Nothing - Nocturne. musicOMH 27 August 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  12. ^ Wright, Lisa (21 September 2012). "NME Album Reviews - Wild Nothing – 'Nocturne'". Nme.Com. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  13. ^ Elingburg, Scott. Wild Nothing: Nocturne. PopMatters. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Nocturne – Wild Nothing". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2012". Under the Radar. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  16. ^ "DIY Albums Of 2012: 30 - 21". DIY. December 5, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  17. ^ "Sydney Pride/Acriacy Sound, LLC". Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Nocturne by Wild Nothing". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
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