Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Dec 14, 2012This is a gorgeous album of soundscapes that are able to stand up alone.
-
Dec 14, 2012The only drawback is, of course, that the songs that do this best are better than the ones that don't...but there aren't many of those.
-
Dec 14, 2012Nocturne is a richer, comparatively luxurious listening experience, but it doesn't sound flashy or ostentatious.
-
Dec 14, 2012Nocturne proves that Tatum is firmly at the centre of the Wild Nothing universe, and around him orbits his dreams, influences and abilities, which seem to stretch out infinitely.
-
Dec 14, 2012The sophomore LP from Virginia dream-pop project Wild Nothing, bandleader Jack Tatum at times seems fixated on darkness. But that doesn't stop the songs from glistening with a melancholy polish.
-
Dec 14, 2012The instrumental packaging (which sounds even more lux and sophisticated than ever) shifts constantly, but there's always a catchy melody to carry Nocturne through.
-
Dec 14, 2012Nocturne still treads the same paths, but it finds Tatum taking far bigger, more confident, strides.
-
Dec 14, 2012This is Jack Tatum's Platonic pop record, and if it doesn't meet the expectations of critics, for lack of soupy textures or the rough edges of home recording or whatever, it's because he exceeded them.
-
Dec 14, 2012Tatum's ideal is a gentle one that can drift right by without revealing its nuances. But the nuance is there in his careful arrangements, thoughtful melodies, and mid-fi perfectionism.
-
Dec 14, 2012Thanks to the high level of Tatum's songs and the sound he and Vernhes create, it's just the kind of album that could connect with lovers of slick, catchy pop with real humans behind the controls.
-
Dec 14, 2012At times, the low-key, downtempo atmosphere may threaten to overwhelm, but Nocturne is an album that both solidifies and enhances Wild Nothing's growing reputation.
-
Dec 14, 2012It's an album made of dreams, haunted visions, and echoes that extend forever.
-
Dec 14, 2012These lo-fi pop gems have been polished, and the result is sparkling.
-
Dec 14, 2012Tatum doesn't offer anything game-changing, but he does serve up a platter of breathless, sometimes mindless synth-pop fun.
-
Dec 14, 2012On Nocturne, he's matured considerably as a songwriter, demonstrating a knack for the subtle nuances that make memorable songs tick.
-
Dec 14, 2012Even if Nocturne isn't going to shove Wild Nothing to the front of any groundbreaking movement, it's still a really good record, made by a guy who likes really good records and who seems really happy to share the refinement of his craft with us.
-
Dec 14, 2012Tatum has nevertheless produced an album that, despite its obvious glances back at the past, is smart, sophisticated and of its own pop moment.
-
Dec 14, 2012It's hard to think of a more reliable, compulsively listenable formula for new wave guitar pop romance than the one that Wild Nothing has so quickly perfected.
-
Dec 14, 2012While a slight step forward, Nocturne, like all of Wild Nothing's output to date, still inhales all of its influences--the women, the hurt, the favourite records stuck on late night repeat--and exhales them in to a beautiful, swirling, ethereal cloud.
-
Dec 14, 2012Minor criticisms aside, this is still a highly enjoyable record that knocks spots off most of the competition still tripping over each other's shoelaces to be the most shambolic lo-fi band in town.
-
Dec 14, 2012So while Nocturne is gorgeous, it's a little too predictable to become truly exciting.
-
MojoDec 14, 2012Tatum adds to the mix tropical pop textures, shimmery synth-pop gloss and twangy guitar solos that could melt hearts. [Oct 2012, p.88]
-
Q MagazineDec 14, 2012Nocturne hasn't shaken its overriding influences but Tatum gently pushes these songs beyond elegant pastiche. [Oct 2012, p.114]
-
Dec 14, 2012Nocturne embodies one artist's sense of what pop used to be, so maybe the future will bring the perfect balance between his two albums, his ideal world.
-
Dec 14, 2012Despite solid production, the pop appeal of Nocturne doesn't quite transcend its 80s influences as well as Gemini's joyous, rough-hewn charms did.
-
Dec 14, 2012For the jaded among us, this is regressive and full of genre-contrivance.
-
Dec 14, 2012There is just too little here to distinguish Wild Nothing from the vast sea of mediocre 80s revivalists, all getting a kick on overhyped nostalgia.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 36 out of 39
-
Mixed: 1 out of 39
-
Negative: 2 out of 39
-
May 16, 2013
-
Feb 8, 2021
-
Jun 6, 2018''Nocturne'' is a triumph! ''Paradise'' is a shining light centerpiece, highlight of an album and so is ''This Chain Won't Break''.