Jack Tatum’s long-term musical project has entered a variety of musical realms, with this next stage seeing a transition into 80s new wave. Indigo borrows different aspects from his previous work, whilst still managing to sound fresh and ambitious.

The band’s core sound has remained accessible pop music, but this time he appears to have had a definitive direction in which he hoped to take the record. As far as the recording process went, Tatum built a series of highly detailed demos, intending to record the final package swiftly with a live band in a studio.

“I wanted it to sound like a classic studio record, as close as I could get it there. It just boils down to me wanting to fit into some larger narrative, musically, in terms of these artists I love. I think about how my music will age. Ideas of ‘timeless’ are going to be different – so if Indigo is not timeless then it’s at least ‘out of time,” he explained.

He booked four days at Sunset Sound’s studio and hired drummer Cam Allen as well as guitarist Benji Lysaght to track the record live, while Tatum played bass. Afterwards, producer Jorge Elbrecht and Tatum built out the rest of the album’s sound by adding new parts and repurposing sounds from the demos.

First single and opening track, ‘Letting Go’, has an opening drum beat and reverb-laden guitar that shows a bold new step, before the brass explorations of ‘Oscillation’ and the funky ‘Partners in Motion’ start proceeding off in an explorative manner.

‘Wheel of Misfortune’ then comes along in what appears to be a time capsule from the 80s, whilst ‘Through Windows’ takes the influences from previous album, Life Of Pause, up a notch. Album epicentre ‘The Closest Thing to Living’ then arrives as Tatum gives his take on modern technology.

The short, minimalist instrumental ‘Dollhouse’ then runs straight into one of the album’s finer cuts, ‘Canyon On Fire’, which features an abrasive guitar line and hazy vocal arrangements. ‘Flawed Translation,’ and its huge melody is another highlight before the driving beat of ‘Bend’ solidifies Indigo as a terrific record.

With neater production and Tatum’s instrumentation blend far more experimental, he’s endeavoured to take a risk which he has pulled off.

Paul Hill

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