Now Playing: Wild Nothing – ‘Paradise’

Wild Nothing - 'Paradise'

Now Playing – every week, a roundtable of our writers will give their views on one of the recently-released new tracks. It’s as simple as that! If you want to tell us what you think of the song, feel free to leave a comment below.

Track: ‘Paradise’ by Wild Nothing

Average grade: 6.4

Rosie: Perhaps it’s because I’m writing this as the sun is shining, but this is the perfect accompaniment to a lazy summer’s day – I can just imagine chilling out to it while the BBQ’s on the go, picnicking in the park – or even watching a balmy sunset by the sea.  It’s laid back, relaxed beat matches the dreamy vocals – and though it’s probably a bit more ’80s than I’d like, I think it’s pretty good overall.  8/10

Richard: I’ve never been enamoured by this sort of dreary dream pop. This isn’t really ‘Paradise’, more music from the pit of purgatory. 3/10

Tom: Wild Nothing sound like a band that found a copy of Now 2 (1984) on Ebay, and with it their raison d’etre.  “Why” they probably said to each other, “does nobody sound like Dire Straits any more?  Let’s make a more ambient, less aspirational version, with lots of meandering guitars and synths.  It doesn’t need to be about anything, it just needs to sound smooth.”  And they were true to their word. 5/10

Kenny: Really nice blissed out beginning that progresses into Talk Talk-like territory as the vocals come in. Could maybe do with a bit more variety from the 2 minute mark onwards but still worth 7/10.

Anna: I don’t get the allure of this; it sounds like an ’80s hazy tune. I didn’t really like those much the first time around and it’s not like this one brings anything new or amazing to the already crooked table. 5/10

Craig: Chill to the max.  Srsly, so, so chill… The synths are azure waves of warm Caribbean seawater caressing my body, the mild guitar groove is the soft sand I lay on.  Shit, there are even some seagull sounds to ease my weary head.  So chill I could slip into a coma at any……….. 7/10

Linda: A cheap 80s vibe, generic lyrics, repetitiveness all around, and a distinct lack of originality: while those exact ingredients might have ruined the closing ceremony of the Olympics, Wild Nothing proves, surprisingly, that it is possible to produce something vaguely interesting with that shopping list. 7/10

Stuart: I love the ’80s. My moniker is “the 80s kid’ for Christs sake. In fact, if I can reminisce for a moment, one of my first ’80s memories is seeing Pete Burns and Dead or Alive playing ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ on Top of the Pops and thankfully it doesn’t seem to have had any long lasting negative effects – save my ridiculous obsession with androgynous male pop stars (take a bow, George Alan O’Dowd and Nicholas James Bates), Madonna and Pop Swatches – all of which means I should fucking love this track, right?

RIGHT! Yep, for the first time in a long time, you lucky people are gonna get a positive score out of this melancholic misfit of a maven. It starts well – well hey, any track that begins by chordchecking (yeah I’m inventing a new word here – think “namechecking” – and I wanna hear this term make everyday parlance in record time, folks) Jan Hammer’s divine ‘Crockett’s Theme’, I’m immediately onside – Wild Nothing: you own me, you could smack me in the face with a Commodore 64 and I’d still lick the crumbs of your half-digested Dweebs off your cheeks – just don’t drop the fucking ball. LUSH! – they don’t: next there’s the jingly-jangly guitar shimmer, the delightfully dour vocals, the thick undulating bass and the crisp in-yer-face drums straight outta New Order’s back pocket. Good job. In short: I loved it – it’s ace – I’m gonna listen to it again. Anyone got a Pyramint? Excellent! 10/10

Stef: Starts lovely and dreamy with a bit of percussion and bass under it to make sure the thing actually moves forward. Cue some guitars in there, and it’s on its way. He sings “love is paradise”, which is a very original and thoughtful observation, but corny 80s lyrics aside, it is all about the mood, and with those synths its got mood down pat. That middle section though, that just knocks the pace right out of it. 6/10