When Jack Tatum started writing songs as Wild Nothing, it felt right to hide behind a band name. “It had a vagueness that, subconsciously, I could grow with,” he says. “It’s allowed me to project different feelings and intentions with a certain level of anonymity—the idea of ‘nothing’ is vastness as opposed to emptiness.”

He’s just released Life of Pause, the long-awaited follow-up LP to 2013’s Empty Estate EP and recently relocated to Los Angeles from Brooklyn. “I wanted a slightly quieter life in a place where I’d still have access to music and culture,” he says.

The recording process spread itself out over a much longer period this time around. “I used to worry about how to define what it is that I do,” he says. “This is the first record that has broadened the scope of what I allow into my music. There are different kinds of songs on this record, but they all represent the same person, the same experience.”

Tatum’s sounds, which he describes as “shifting, familiar, layered, grounded, deliberate,” are often influenced directly by what he’s currently listening to, whether it’s a pop-radio melody, David Bowie, David Byrne, Brian Eno, Roxy Music, a film composition or soul music. “Your own limitations can be integral to the creative process,” he says. “I’ve often been limited to coming up with ideas in my own bedroom with only a handful of instruments. This shapes the sound of something, but it can also teach you where your boundaries are and where the cracks in those boundaries exist.”

Wild Nothing’s shows remain faithful to the quintet’s records, but they also try to be as honest as possible. “There’s sometimes a lot happening in these songs, and it can be tempting to use backing tracks and other tricks, but we’ve reached a point of realization that this should be a ‘rock’ group in the classic sense,” he says, adding that his focus has always been more on songwriting than performing.

“I grew up in a small town in Virginia, and it was rare that musicians I liked would come through the area, so my relationship has always been much stronger with records,” Tatum adds.

Looking ahead, he’ll support Life of Pause on the road for much of 2016, which will likely “be my life, which is good. It’s been a while. I need that ebb and flow.

“My knowledge and taste was never really dependent on my friends or environment,” Tatum explains. “In that sense, I’ve always been a bit of a musical loner. You can be anywhere and find yourself drawn to things from all over the world.”