Review and photography by Robert Barrett

The unusual New Orleans setting of Mama Roux’s housed Wild Nothing supporting their new album ‘Indigo’. It felt like we were in the French Quarter, but tonight was all about the Virginia based Jack Tautum who is the sole studio recording member of the band.
It was support act J Fernandez’s first time in Birmingham. Between asking for a place to crash and some odd on stage banter they played a fun and blissful set.

Wild Nothing really caught my ear with recent track ‘Partners in Motion’, a superb piece of nostalgic pop reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night album. Vast pedal boards covered the stage as the band took their places. Although the albums are solely Jack, he is joined by a touring band including members of indie favourites Real Estate. Kicking off with new single ‘Wheel of Misfortune’ they quickly ran through a mixture of tracks from all four albums.

There wasn’t much on stage chatter from Jack, he seemed fully focused on how the tracks sound on record. It really paid off. A full 80’s saxophone solo during ‘Partners In Motion’ caused delighted screams from the crowd. The band continued to impress with cuts such as ‘Paradise’ and ‘Letting Go’.

Finishing on three of their biggest tracks including classic track ‘Shadow’. The band had proved themselves to be masters. This wasn’t a raucous, rock and roll show by any means, but a delicate masterclass in indie pop perfection.

(The original version of this article was first published on Gigjunkies http://www.gigjunkies.com/band-reviews/wild-nothing-j-fernandez-at-mama-rouxs-birmingham-uk-12th-february-2019/)