Three albums deep, Wild Nothing have quietly become a critically acclaimed act without ever really gaining any notable success. This may have something to do with their musical style not neatly fitting into any particular scene – a shoegaze, dream-pop, indie-rock, post-punk amalgamation – Jack Chatum’s musical project is not quite off-kilter enough to acquire the devotion of the Mac DeMarco-loving pack but, at the same time, lacks the required amount of virility to win over the attentions of the rock crowd. In reality, Wild Nothing should be in a much larger font on festival posters and playing in bigger venues but, instead, they find themselves caught in a sort of musical purgatory.

Saturday night’s revellers didn’t care about this though, with the sold out crowd happy to see the Virginia-native’s band up close in what is one of East London’s quirkier, yet intimate venues. Chatum says he only uploaded his first demo tracks onto the internet ‘for the sake of it’ back in 2009 and eight years later he is still opening his gigs 3,000 miles away with one of those very songs. The sun-bleached ‘Summer Holiday’ still sounds as fresh as when it was first released and Chatum even managed to coax the crowd into providing the harmonies during the chorus.

Playing an accomplishment of songs from each record, the full potential of the five member’s musicianship is notable when placed into a live setting. Wild Nothing manages to bring new vivacity into each composition, with every subtle nuance creating more complex versions in comparison to their recorded counterparts.

The US band also do brilliantly to amalgamate the polymath of styles featured in the back catalogue into a seamless live set, which felt wholly substantial despite the absence of ‘Reichpop’ and ‘The Body in Rainfall’. “Dancing with the night, playing with my eyes,” crooned Chatum, as the band played what is arguably their finest song ‘Paradise’. Using dreamy Beach House-like synth as an outline, this allowed a disco-esque rhythm section and ‘chucking’ style rhythm guitar to place the crowd into an engrossing nostalgic haze.

‘Shadow’ is another composition which takes on a new dynamism on stage. The American songwriter proves with this track that he is the master of creating a sustained melodic hook without having to fashion an intense crescendo. Meanwhile, from the most recent record, ‘Lady Blue’s’ climatic finale is elongated into an epic cathartic release of synthetic noises and pulsating reverberations.

Life of Pause also provided the set closer and undoubted highlight ‘To Know You’. This song displays Chatum’s ability to evolve whilst still retaining the romantic grandeur of earlier releases. With its krautrock hypnotic rhythm, it went on for a good three minutes longer than on record and had the crowd bobbing their heads in subconscious appreciation in what was an extravagant finale which matched the glitter-infused decor of the Moth Club.

Paul Hill

Website: wildnothingmusic.com
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