Nation of Language

Three years on from the release of their unexpectedly self-assured debut album, Nation of Language have attracted a rapidly growing, international audience via their danceable and impassioned take on new wave and post-punk traditions. Their hopeful music—marked by soaring melodies, blinking synth lines, and frontman Ian Devaney's towering voice—is a ray of light in an era of anxiety, cynicism, hatred, and snark. A fervent sound has continued to evolve across two subsequent albums, but the common denominator is an unmistakable quality of movement: the pulse from their keyboards is heady and propulsive, and their lyrics teem with the restlessness and romanticism intrinsic to life in concrete jungles. The trio's bustling Brooklyn home has continued to serve as a backdrop to their creativity, the end product permeating with an urgency to embrace progress, exploration, and forward motion. Those who have seen Nation of Language perform have witnessed Ian Devaney, Aidan Noell, and Alex MacKay bounce around the stage with seemingly endless energy as they dot the globe. These days, they're packing venues with increasing frequency throughout the year, and becoming mainstays of massive summer music events such as Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Desert Daze, Pitchfork Festival, Primavera Sound and Outside Lands. Following the critical acclaim of both their 2020 debut album Introduction, Presence and its 2021 follow-up A Way Forward, the band have made their late-night TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last year, and now head into their next chapter. Nation of Language's forthcoming third album Strange Disciple fits neatly into this theory of motion. Devaney has come to view this first trio of LPs as a sort of triptych, with each album relating to differing modes of transportation. He imagines the first (Introduction, Presence) takes place in a car, with a blurry euphoria reminiscent of road trips and song titles like 'Automobile' and 'The Motorist.' The follow up (A Way Forward) occurs on (and as) a locomotive, influenced by the minimal chug of krautrock. So it's only fitting that their latest full-length Strange Disciple is their wayfarer album, best experienced with one's own two-feet on the ground and informed by walks through various cities while on tour or within their home base of New York City.