Gemini

Wild Nothing
Gemini
Rating: Woof Daddy

Where is the line between drawing from your influences and making something distinct and your own, and becoming a flat out imitiation of those influences? For every Interpol you have a Crocodiles. Interpol drew from bands like Joy Division and The Chameleons to forge a distinct sound, while Crocodiles just sound like a Jesus and Mary Chain cover band. Now we have Wild Nothing, who draw from a whole litany of artists; mainly faves from the 4AD catalog (Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz, Lush, Wolfgang Press), Factory Records (Joy Divison, Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio), along with 80s stalwarts Cure, Depeche Mode, and The Smiths, and Siouxsie.

Wild Nothing came to notice with their amazing cover of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting":



Now they have their initial release Gemini, that takes all of those influences and meshes them into a completely original package, filled with bold hooks, and wry songwriting.

One can see hints of almost every 80s college guitar band in the driving and sunny "Summer Holiday"



Or echoes of the crystalline guitar work of Robin Guthrie in "Drifter" and in "Bored Games"



And hints of Cure in "Confirmation"



I suppose it would be easy to play spot the influence with each of their songs, but it really isn't the point of why I like Wild Nothing. If it was only about what bands they sounded like, I wouldn't waste my time and would be listening to the originals. Here, Wild Nothing makes their own mark and does so with bold strokes. This is never more evident than in first single "Chinatown"



Just a gorgeous melody and perfect summer song. The album has such strong memories of my years growing up and listening to music and finding what sounds spoke to me. As I grow older it becomes more and more difficult to capture that feeling; the joyous rush of youth. Bands like Wild Nothing show me that the years may come, but you never fully lose the ability to experience those feelings, unless of course you allow them to go away.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not good; could have either been trimmed or spent more time on.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.