Wild Nothing, Jack Tatum's Virginia-based dream-pop project, returns to Brooklyn, New York on a summer tour that has Tatum & Co. traversing North America, from Birmingham, Alabama, to Toronto, Ontario, to Guadalajara, Mexico. On August 12, 2024, Wild Nothing took the stage at Elsewhere, a sprawling, multi-space venue in Brooklyn, New York.
A staple of the Brooklyn indie music scene, Wild Nothing rose to prominence in the 2010s on Captured Tracks, a then blossoming Brooklyn-based indie label, alongside indie-darlings Beach Fossils, Mac Demarco, DIIV, and Craft Spells. Amidst a celebrated 14-year career, there's something different about this Wild Nothing tour. A hiatus of some kind is looming for Wild Nothing; whether touring, writing, or both is unclear to fans at the moment. Tatum, however, has previously announced that this is going to be "the last tour we do for some time" on Instagram.
The moment we were in was not lost on fans. While outside in the smoking section before Wild Nothing's set, a concertgoer engaged me in conversation. Pointedly, he asked me, "[w]hat's next in this scene? Everyone that made up this era is getting older, creating families, and it seems like the sounds we grew with are fading away." The conversation then, broadly, turned to anxieties of aging, but also the importance of leaning into passions old and new. I didn't know how to respond. Of course, I felt the same way. The music that made up my formative years is fading. That Wild Nothing has, at minimum, informally announced a touring hiatus is a stark reminder of that.
As such, the setlist for Wild Nothing's summer tour is career-spanning. It includes fan-favorites from across Tatum's entire catalogue: 2010's Gemini and Golden Haze, 2012's Nocturne, 2013's Empty Estate EP, 2016's Life of Pause, 2018's Indigo, 2020's Laughing Gas EP, and 2023's Hold. In sum, there's something here for every fan - whether you like Tatum's atmospheric dream-pop, indie-pop ballads, or 80's era synth-pop, Wild Nothing brings it all on this tour.
Wild Nothing opened their set with "Nocturne", the titular track from 2012's Nocturne. A fan favorite, the crowd reacted with joy upon hearing its first note. A few songs later Wild Nothing played "Wheel of Misfortune" from 2018's Indigo, and Tatum forgot the words to the opening verse. In a strange kind of way, the lapse in memory was perfectly timed. The opening line to the chorus goes, "Everyone takes their turn at the wheel of misfortune." We also heard "Dial Tone" from Wild Nothing's latest album, 2023's Hold, a standout track from the album. The most memorable moment of the night, at least for me, was when Wild Nothing played "Alien" from 2016's Life of Pause. The track is intensely atmospheric, featuring loud and dramatic shimmering synth lines that enveloped the entire venue with this indescribable rush of intensity. As the night wrapped up, Wild Nothing played a short encore consisting of one song - which I won't spoil - but the track is a fantastic closer.
If this is the last we hear of Wild Nothing for quite a while, Tatum could not have constructed a better setlist. With at least one song from every body of work, the setlist flowed well and provided concertgoers an opportunity to think back on the memories they associate with the release of each record or EP. Indeed, that's what the night felt like - a celebration of Wild Nothing.
