Recently sharing their fourth and subtlest album to date, Brooklyn trio Nation of Language talk poetry, touring, and catharsis.
There’s a quiet immersion and effortless assurance to the gently infectious fourth record from Nation of Language. The trio have developed a cult favourite reputation in their near decade long career, with all three prior LPs met with critical acclaim, and there’s a real sense that with this new album – a first since singing to Sub Pop – the band are exploring new sonic terrain; confidently, calculatedly, characterfully.
To celebrate the album, the band are currently on the backend of a huge 51-date international tour, playing London’s The Roundhouse tonight (12th October) before embarking on a further UK and EU stint. For now, with the sophisticated and potent project further cementing the group’s peerless appeal, the group’s frontman Ian Richard Devaney drops by Wonderland to discuss their origins, the new album, and their current tour.
Listen to the album…
Read the interview…
Hey! Talk us through the band origins. What works so well about the three of you?
The band started as just a writing project – I wanted to see if I could make synthesizer music because I had never tried before and wanted something new to explore. Some friends encouraged me to start playing the songs live, and through the years the lineup changed several times until we landed on what you see today. I think we just really know how to support each other and thankfully all love to be on the road as much as we can be.
How do you reflect on your career to date?
We released our first album right at the start of Covid lockdowns, so my expectations for our career started in a pretty low place. Thankfully radio stations and online publications found our music and shared it, and so coming out of lockdown everything felt entirely different. We had gone from a local band doing DIY touring to a full-time band with fans around the world. Definitely felt like we skipped a few steps while we were locked away in our apartment. Given all that I try to just take everything one step at a time, be grateful, and work as hard as I can, because the opportunities we have right now are so rare.
Congratulations on the release of your new album! How are you feeling now that it’s out in the world?
It feels great – like finally exhaling after holding your breath for a long time. They have done so much for me in the writing and recording process, so I really want to be able to give them up and find out how others relate to them. So much of the beauty of songwriting to me is finding bonds with strangers, so this is a crucial step.
Why is the record called Dance Called Memory?
The name comes from a poetry book called ‘The Beauty of the Husband’ by Anne Carson – Aidan had read it and underlined the phrase “What is the nature of the dance called memory?” and we just kept returning to that phrase over and over again. It really struck us and seemed to capture a critical theme of the record, which is how we relate to our memories as life changes around us.
Talk us through the process of making this album?
Unlike most of our other records, most of this one was written first on guitar – I was going through a difficult period for my mental health and would often turn to the guitar, not expressly to write a song, but just to keep my hands and my mind occupied. From that outlet, songs just started to form. In the past songs almost always began with a drum machine pattern or a synth sequence, so this was a bit different. It reminds me of something Bruce Springsteen said once about how differently his songs come out depending on whether he started them on piano or guitar.
It’s your fourth album. What have you learnt from the previous trio of LPs that drove the making of this one?
I think the biggest lesson from the other albums is to trust our instincts. It seems like we never know which song from any given record is going to catch on amongst our fans, so just following what we think is interesting and worthwhile seems to be the only tried-and-true method of finding success.
How would you define the essence of this new body of work?
I think this album is a real example of how making art can help a person navigate the difficult times in their lives. Not only during the initial moments of creation, which, as mentioned before, can help just by keeping your hands busy playing an instrument or whatever your craft is – but by finding pride in the final product and instilling in yourself some sense of self-worth and pride.
You’ve just kicked off a huge run of North American shows. What can attendees expect from a NoL show?
We really try to make each night unique – we get a lot of fans who come to multiple shows on a tour so we want to make sure they’re never getting the same exact thing each time.
You’ll be heading to the UK and EU after that. Is there a particular show you’re excited to play or a country you’re excited to visit? Why?
Honestly excited just to be over there at all – its such a privilege to be able to travel and play shows. That being said, our show in Berlin is the largest headlining show we’ve ever done so that’s an exciting milestone for us.
What else is to come from you?
I expect a lot more touring in 2026, and more writing whenever we’re not on the road.
