{"title":"Nation of Language","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"nation-of-language_inept-apollo","title":"Inept Apollo","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan id=\"docs-internal-guid-6634889c-7fff-3640-afed-be62cd6c6609\"\u003eSub Pop will be the new home for Nation of Language – the Brooklyn, NY-based trio composed of Ian Richard Devaney (lead vocals, guitar), Aidan Noell (synthesizer), and Alex MacKay (bass guitar).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDevaney offers this on the “Inept Apollo” song: \u003ci\u003e“Work is a respite from pain. Whether it's a paying job or just the thing you pour yourself into, having a direction to move in, finding a flow state, it can move focus away from the heaviness of the heart. So after life's losses, in moments of despair, we resolve time and time again to dive headfirst into the work as best we can. But the artistic process also tends to be when imposter syndrome rears its ugly head - when I find my inner monologue spiraling: ‘this is the best coping mechanism I have at my disposal and I'm not even qualified to be doing it.’\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nation of Language","offers":[{"title":"Digital","offer_id":41870026637408,"sku":"796426","price":1.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/nationoflanguage-ineptapollo-single-3600px.jpg?v=1747252180"},{"product_id":"nation-of-language_dance-called-memory-white-t-shirt","title":"Dance Called Memory White T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eA t-shirt to coincide with Nation of Language's album \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/products\/nation-of-language_dance-called-memory\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eDance Called Memory.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nation of Language","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":42007101341792,"sku":"21700992","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"M","offer_id":42007101374560,"sku":"21700993","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"L","offer_id":42007101407328,"sku":"21700994","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"XL","offer_id":42007101440096,"sku":"21700995","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":42007101472864,"sku":"21700996","price":29.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/NOL_shirt_final_mockup.jpg?v=1749739292"},{"product_id":"nation-of-language_dance-called-memory","title":"Dance Called Memory","description":"\u003cp\u003eSynthpop, 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. “It’s a great way to distract yourself,” he says, “when you are depressed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNation 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 the album being named Rough Trade’s Album of the Year. With that release, Pitchfork wrote that the band “are learning what it means to get bigger and better.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is Devaney’s calling: soulfully translating individual despair into a comforting, collective mourning. This uncannily pervades the album. 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. “To be a caretaker — transforming your home into a kind of hospital wing and structuring your life around the dire needs of another — is such a difficult, powerful act of love and friendship,” Devaney says. “It’s made more difficult by our economic system that doesn’t seem to value this in any way commensurate with how hard it is.” 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis concept is echoed in the track “I’m Not Ready for the Change,” referencing the psychic dyspepsia that repeatedly reincarnates throughout our lives. Says Devaney: “I came across a photo from a party — it was filled with couples that were no longer together, friends who had gone their separate ways. It wasn’t from very long ago, but the sheer impossibility of such a gathering struck me in the heaviest way. Sometimes it feels like the pages of life’s book are turning faster than you can comprehend them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn approaching the recording of 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 working with Nick is his ability to make us feel like we don’t need to do what might be expected of us, or to chase any particular sound,” says synth player Aidan Noell, who, along with bass player Alex MacKay, rounds out the Nation of Language lineup. As a result, 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.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUltimately, 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 of 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. That this thing should be as unvarnished and warm as possible. 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.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the heavy themes at its core, Devaney insists, “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.” \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nation of Language","offers":[{"title":"Loser (color) LP","offer_id":42013525049440,"sku":"717000","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":42013525082208,"sku":"717002","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":42013525016672,"sku":"717006","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/NationOfLanguage_DanceCalledMemory_Mockup_US_LP_2000x1417_8bafe9be-ba4d-4926-9749-7ea94bd8d0a6.jpg?v=1750045996"},{"product_id":"nation-of-language_inept-apollo-tom-sharkett-remix","title":"Inept Apollo (Tom Sharkett Remix)","description":"\u003cp\u003eNation of Language is sharing a new rework of Dance Called Memory’s lead single “Inept Apollo” by UK artist Tom Sharkett of the band W.H. Lung. This rework takes the song's new wave origins, ups the BPM and the funk, and turns it into an even more danceable sibling. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNation of Language’s Ian Devaney has this to say on the track, “We’re big fans of WH Lung, as well as Tom’s excellent recent LCD Soundsystem rework, so we were super excited when he reached out saying he wanted to take a crack at a new mix of ‘Inept Apollo.’ Our initial enthusiasm only grew when we received the end product a couple months later and were able to test it out in a club environment a few times. Can confidently report it sounds fantastic in a loud and crowded room. Here’s hoping it sees its way to a few dance floors in 2026.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSharkett offers this on the remix, \"I had an affinity with Nation of Language as soon as I heard their music. It felt like it came from the same place as the music I was making myself and with W. H. Lung, and the more of their music I heard, the more I felt it. It was hard initially to find a way in with remixing “Inept Apollo,” as I loved the original so much. I knew I wanted to nod to the connection between NYC and Manchester started by the artists and DJs I feel we both love, without even having to name check them. It had to be wonky, and it had to be loose and lively. Hope you enjoy!\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nation of Language","offers":[{"title":"Digital","offer_id":42547435995232,"sku":"717386","price":1.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/nation-of-language-inept-apollo-tom-sharkett-remix-cover.jpg?v=1769469537"},{"product_id":"nation-of-language_tougher-than-the-rest","title":"Tougher Than the Rest","description":"\u003cp\u003eNation of Language is sharing a striking new cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love album track “Tougher Than the Rest.” The song will also be available on a limited-edition 7” single (of 1000 copies). Nation of Language’s Ian Richard Devaney offers this on the track: \"Like any good New Jersey resident I grew up listening to Springsteen, but this song somehow slipped by me during that formative era. I was really only exposed to it within the last few years, and it's followed me around since then. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI can remember finishing a particularly emotional show somewhere deep in last year's tour, and our sound engineer Skinny started playing it as our exit music. It caught me so hard that I stayed there, just offstage, and listened to the rest of the song blasting, mixed with the sounds of all of the people milling about the venue. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen we ultimately endeavored that we might try doing our own version of the song we luckily\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ehad a Yamaha CS-80 at our disposal, the same synth model which featured pretty heavily across the \u003ci\u003eTunnel of Love \u003c\/i\u003esessions back in ’87. Knowing we were working with some of the same textures as the original made it a little less daunting to cover Bruce.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nation of Language","offers":[{"title":"7 inch","offer_id":42710948184160,"sku":"717487","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":42710948151392,"sku":"717486","price":2.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0110\/1882\/9920\/files\/NationOfLanguage_TTTR_7Inch_2000x1417_0b5bf6c8-12ad-4702-92fa-f90efbcc9a3f.jpg?v=1776116731"}],"url":"https:\/\/megamart.subpop.com\/collections\/nation-of-language\/format-7-inch.oembed","provider":"Sub Pop Mega Mart","version":"1.0","type":"link"}