Blissed out 80’s synth inspired album that is refreshing and spectacular. Brooklyn-based synth auteurs Nation of Language entered 2020 as one of the most heralded new acts of recent memory, having already earned high-praise from the likes of NME, Fader, Pitchfork, Stereogum and countless others for their ability to blend the upbeat with a healthy dose of sardonic melancholy on their early singles. Inspired by the early new-wave and punk movements, the band has quickly earned a reputation for delivering frenzied nights of unconventional bliss to rapt audiences, and established themselves as bright young stars emerging from a crowded NYC landscape. After much eager anticipation, their gloom pop debut album Introduction, Presence is finally released. For fans of OMD, The National, New Order and Tears for Fears.
Brooklyn-based band Nation of Language, led by vocalist and songwriter Ian Devaney and featuring his wife Aidan Devaney on keys and Michael Sui-Poi on bass, unleashed their debut album Introduction, Presence in 2020, and it’s crowned them as the most exciting new synth-pop act in years. The band has been releasing invigorating, ’80s-indebted singles for about five years now—tracks like “I’ve Thought About Chicago” and “Reality” are undoubtedly direct descendents of Pet Shop Boys, A Flock of Seagulls and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, but there’s also a subtle glow that recalls 21st century anthemic indie rock à la Arcade Fire, The National and The Killers. While their decade-spanning influences can certainly be scavenged, their songs always sound bigger than them Devaney’s song writing feels essential and eternal.
“Rush & Fever’ began with the idea that I wanted to write a song around an unchanging bassline. I’ve always been interested in the concept of keeping certain aspects of a song static and then looking at what can change around that core element, and how those evolutions change our relationship to whatever has remained constant. The bass helps give the song this relentless forward motion that I think serves the theme, which is essentially an examination of a relationship of questionable seriousness or value, and how our minds can stumble forward over themselves as we try to process these relationships.”
Nation Of Language “Rush & Fever” from Introduction Presence