This year marks a decade since Gemini, the self-recorded debut that catapulted Virginia Tech senior Jack Tatum into contemporary dream pop canon. As his project Wild Nothing took off, Tatum’s music drew as many comparisons to 4AD royalty like the Cocteau Twins as it did to contemporaries like the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Over time, as Tatum gathered confidence, Wild Nothing’s sound became glossier, steering away from lo-fi guitars to embrace an exactingly produced vision of chillwave. With each subsequent release, the ethereal haze gradually cleared, putting Tatum’s wistful melodies and insubstantial lyricism in clearer view. By 2018’s , he seemed so focused on aesthetics that any potential for emotional connection withered. The new EP—a handful of tracks recorded during the sessions—suggest an artist more concerned with creating a vibe than conjuring sincere feeling.