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NATION OF LANGUAGE

Nation Of Language

Dance Called Memory

    Synthpop, minimal wave, post-punk, goth, new romantic — fans and critics alike have dug deeply into their vintage thesauruses to describe the beguiling work of Nation of Language. And if you can’t precisely define the band, that’s the point. Frontman Ian Richard Devaney has become prodigious in expanding what synthesizer-driven music can evoke, such that his output is as much an extrasensory journey as it is an all-too-human destination. With that experience in mind, he wrote the band’s fourth album — the spectral, spacious 'Dance Called Memory' — in the most humble of ways: chipping away at melancholia by sitting around and strumming his guitar.

    Nation of Language’s first two albums, 'Introduction, Presence' (2020), and 'A Way Forward' (2021), came as pandemic godsends: gorgeous, relatable soundtracks to our collective doldrums. But it was their last LP, 'Strange Disciple' (2023), that catapulted the group from cultural standouts to critical darlings. With that release, Pitchfork wrote that the band “are learning what it means to get bigger and better.”

    This is Devaney’s calling: soulfully translating individual despair into a comforting, collective mourning. The single 'Now That You’re Gone', which radiates and reverberates with a devastating wistfulness, was inspired by witnessing his godfather’s tragic death from ALS, and his parents’ role as caretakers for this ailing friend. At its heart, the song is a reflection of how friends can be there for each other, and also highlights a theme throughout the record: the pain and lost promise of friendships that fall apart.

    On 'Dance Called Memory', the band once again collaborated with friend and Strange Disciple producer Nick Millhiser (LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!). “What’s so great about Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don’t need to do what might be expected of us,” says synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bassist Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. They imbued 'Dance Called Memory' with a shifted palette — sampling chopped-up drum breaks on 'I’m Not Ready for the Change' for a touch of Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine or smashing all of the percussion of 'In Another Life' through a synthesizer to cast a shade of early-2000s electronic music.

    Ultimately, the hope was to weave raw vulnerability and humanity into a synth-heavy album. “There is a dichotomy between the Kraftwerk school of thought and the Brian Eno school of thought, each of which I’ve been drawn to at different points. I’ve read about how Kraftwerk wanted to remove all the humanity from their music, but Eno often spoke about wanting to make synthesized music that felt distinctly human,” Devaney says. “As much as Kraftwerk is a sonically foundational influence, with this record I leaned much more towards the Eno school of thought. In this era quickly being defined by the rise of AI supplanting human creators I’m focusing more on the human condition, and I need the underlying music to support that… Instead of hopelessness, I want to leave the listener with a feeling of us really seeing one another, that our individual struggles can actually unite us in empathy.”

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Can't Face Another One
    2. In Another Life
    3. Silhouette
    4. Now That You're Gone
    5. I'm Not Ready For The Change
    6. Can You Reach Me
    7. Inept Apollo
    8. Under The Water
    9. In Your Head
    10. Nights Of Weight

    Nation Of Language

    Strange Disciple

      Nation of Language announce the release of their new album, Strange Disciple. Out September 15th on Play It Again Sam, following performances at Primavera Sound, Pitchfork Festival, Outside Lands and dozens more of their biggest headline shows to date, the Brooklyn band’s third LP is one that is meant to invoke wandering, wondrous walks through city streets both foreign and familiar. In the three short years since their acclaimed debut, 2020’s Introduction, Presence, Nation of Language have sustained an increasing ascent from small, hyperlocal scenes to international stages and late-night television, while their musical evolution has embodied three distinct modes of moving through the world: lead singer and songwriter Ian Devaney imagines the band’s first album, Introduction, Presence, as taking place in a car, whereas second album A Way Forward occurred on and as a locomotive, influenced by the chugging sound of krautrock. Now, as their first record to be fully created and released outside the confines of a pandemic-instilled lockdown, Strange Disciple is centred around groove-driven songs and bouncing basslines that feel ambulatory and wayfaring, informed by the excitement of exploring new places the band never thought they would see on tour.

      STAFF COMMENTS

      Barry says: It's easy to hear a lot of influence here, the echoic vocals of Tears For Fears, or the percussive skitter of OMD, but all rendered in Nation Of Language's own unique indie-rock palette. Arm-raising balladry and slowly building walls of sound, pieced together arp by arp.

      TRACK LISTING

      Weak In Your Light
      Sole Obsession
      Surely I Can't Wait
      Swimming In The Shallow Sea
      Too Much, Enough
      Spare Me The Decision
      Sightseer
      Stumbling Still
      A New Goodbye
      I Will Never Learn

      Nation Of Language

      From The Hill

        From Brooklyn, Nation Of Language have made a name for themselves creating music from another lifetime. On new single ‘From The Hill’ singer Ian Devaney says, “'From the Hill' is a song reflecting on times when friendships fall apart over romantic entanglement, accompanied by the sensation that you're somehow watching it happen from above with a more zoomed-out perspective. It can feel at times like certain parts of life are a story with which you're just following along - the characters enter, they play their role, and then they leave. Often it'll feel sudden and catch you off guard, and other times you’re able to see that it's the only way things could have played out despite what you may have wanted.”

        He adds, “For us, we’re in a moment right now where it feels good to get this out into the world. It’s one that didn't really feel like it fit the vibe of A Way Forward, nor is it any real indication of where the next record is likely heading. When that situation arrives we like to use these 7” releases to step outside the larger framework that the albums provide and just release a track that we love, so this is us doing that once again.”

        TRACK LISTING

        From The Hill
        Ground Control

        Nation Of Language

        Androgynous

          Nation of Language release a limited edition 7” single covering the classic single ‘Androgynous’ by The Replacements. Presenting an entirely reimagined interpretation, Nation of Language have delivered an 80s new wave production built on playful synths and punctuating drum programming. Ian Devaney’s vocals bring the unmistakable Nation of Language take on contemporary indie electronic which they are growing to define. The B-side is a new Nation of Language recording called Again & Again which is released for the first time on this 7”.

          TRACK LISTING

          A1. Androgynous
          B1. Again & Again

          Nation Of Language

          A Way Forward

            Nation of Language hail from Brooklyn, New York.

            The band self-released their debut album ‘Introduction, Presence’ in May 2020.

            ‘A Way Forward’ marks their first album since signing to Play It Again Sam.

            Pristine synth-infused pop, with a heavy 80s vibe. Think OMD, A Flock Of Seagulls etc.

            STAFF COMMENTS

            Barry says: From the shuffled cosmic thump of 'Across That Fine Line' to Kreidler-adjacent instrumental sub-bass rhythms behind chorused guitars and stadium riffage, 'A Way Forward' provides a perfectly measured and impeccably manicured electronic wooze. Lovely.

            TRACK LISTING

            In Manhattan
            Across That Fine Line
            Wounds Of Love
            Miranda
            The Grey Commute
            This Fractured Mind
            Former Self
            Whatever You Want
            A Word & A Wave
            They’re Beckoning


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